Concert Band
March Celebration
Grade 3 | 4 Mins
March Celebration was commissioned by the Harmonie Royale des Sapeurs-Pompiers d'Athus, Belgium, to celebrate their 135th Anniversary in 2010. The first performance took place on 23rdOctober 2010, conducted by the composer.
The brief for the commission requested that two famous local marches would be included in the piece, so, after the first original march theme and a second ‘bass’ theme, there follows an extract from March of the Sheep, a popular melody played once a year during festivals in the villages of south Belgium and Luxemburg. This is followed by the stirring March of the Ardennes Hunters Regiment, which is almost a second national hymn in the area. The original march themes return to bring the work to a close.