A notable occasion
Professor composes music for inauguration
A special day calls for special music. So, Wheaton College Assistant Professor of Music Delvyn Case composed “Inaugural Fanfare” for the inauguration of President Dennis Hanno.
Case describes the piece as “a short fanfare for trumpet and organ, intended to herald the beginning of a new era in Wheaton’s history with enthusiasm and hope.”
“For over a millennium, composers have been writing pieces for institutions to celebrate major events. As the composer on Wheaton’s faculty, I wrote a piece for the dedication ceremony of the Mars Center for Science and Technology in 2011, and since that project was so well received, I offered to write a piece for the inauguration,” said Case, who is also the music director of the Great Woods Chamber Orchestra.
“Inaugural Fanfare” was written to be performed by Assistant Professor of Music William MacPherson (organ) and Boston-based trumpeter Steve Emery. The piece also was composed specifically for the organ in Cole Memorial Chapel. It calls for the stops (the sounds and pipes) that are unique to that organ.
“Wheaton will always be central to the artistic choices I made in the piece,” Case said. “I tried to make the piece sound regal, but not overblown and pompous; that wouldn’t seem to fit President Hanno at all. It is marked: ‘Graceful and confident. Poised and unhurried,’ which I think reflects Wheaton’s identity as well.”
Photos by Keith Nordstrom