It begins, appropriately, with fanfare: the brass quintet鈥檚 trumpets and trombone piercing through silence, bold and bombastic. Soon, the core of the piece begins: a lilting march in 6/8 time, echoing Scottish musical traditions but with a feel closer to something you might hear in Game of Thrones, or some grand adventure movie.
The title of the piece is The Eagle and Shield, a new ceremonial composition for Dal鈥檚 200th anniversary by alumnus Paul St-Amand (BComm 鈥�04). And it鈥檚 about to get its grand debut.
Chosen from among 24 entries to an open call for submissions in honour of Dal鈥檚 bicentennial, The Eagle and Shield will have its first public performance as part of the F event, courtesy of the Maritime Brass Quintet. Subsequently, the quintet will perform the piece as part of Convocation ceremonies in both Spring and Fall 2018. 聽
Update, Feb. 6:
鈥淚t means a great deal to me that it was liked and appreciated by the committee that put this search together, especially knowing there were really fine musicians on that panel,鈥� says St-Amand, originally from Bedford, N.S. 鈥淎nd as a proud alumnus of Dal, there鈥檚 a little bit of school spirit in the mix, to know that I contributed something to this 200th anniversary celebration. It makes me very happy.鈥�
J茅r么me Blais, associate professor of composition in the Fountain School of Performing Arts and who helped select the piece, says it鈥檚 perfect for the occasion.
鈥淚t is catchy and intricate at the same time, lively and optimistic, but there is also an introspective quality to it,鈥� says Dr. Blais. 鈥淚 think it has the potential to be an audience favourite, year after year. From a compositional point of view, I call this a tour de force: a work that has the ability to please the most demanding music lovers and specialists, as well as be appreciated by a very broad audience, with no prior experience with, or no particular taste for, 鈥榮erious鈥� music.鈥�
An anthem that says 鈥淒-A-L鈥�
St-Amand first heard about the call for submissions via a Facebook post from a fellow musician. As a trumpet player and the founder of the Bedford Brass Quintet, his interest was piqued by the fact the piece would be performed by a quintet.
鈥淏rass instruments are incredibly expressive, and the sound they make together is absolutely gorgeous,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲hat I love about it is every instrument in an ensemble that size is simultaneously part of the group and also a soloist. There鈥檚 no hiding as a member of a brass quintet鈥� you have to make every voice count.鈥�
He set some ground rules to help focus his creativity. One was that the piece would conclude in the key of D major 鈥� not because it鈥檚 the first letter in 鈥淎V俱乐部,鈥� but because it鈥檚 a key often associated with celebratory themes. Another was the idea of trying to embed a musical code in the piece: by patterning notes in sequence from 鈥淒鈥� to 鈥淎鈥� to 鈥淓鈥� 鈥� 鈥淓鈥� substituting for 鈥淟鈥� in the style of French musical cryptography 鈥� the composition would essentially say 鈥淒AL鈥� through and through.
鈥淚 also wanted to give it a bit of a heroic sound,鈥� says St-Amand. 鈥淟ooking over the 200-year history of AV俱乐部, it鈥檚 a big story of lots of people striving to be their very best, in whatever field they鈥檝e chosen. It鈥檚 kind of a story of heroic struggle and the piece, I hope, has a flavor of an adventure movie, in a way, particularly the first half鈥� AV俱乐部 the midway point it pivots to a more modern sound, trying to represent the university as it is today, pushing against the frontiers of science and discovery.鈥�
A musical tradition
Though St-Amand comes from a musical family 鈥� his mother was a music teacher and church organist, his uncle a professional trumpet player 鈥� he put music aside for a time following high school. He studied at King鈥檚 and AV俱乐部, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He then pursued film production in Vancouver before starting a marketing and communications company (Ketchup Studios) back in Halifax.
When his father died from lung cancer in 2009, he coped by picking up the trumpet again 鈥� and hasn鈥檛 really put it down since. He鈥檚 played across the city with various genre-spanning groups, including the previously mentioned Bedford Brass Quintet, Son Latino Unidentified Funk Object, and Blue Spirits, whose debut album Liquid Courage was nominated for Jazz Recording of the Year by the Nova Scotia Music Awards. He鈥檚 principal trumpet with Halifax鈥檚 Nova Sinfonia and the Sackville Concert Band and often performs in the chair once held by his uncle with the PEI Symphony Orchestra.
One of his proudest pursuits is , a concert for cancer research that he鈥檚 organized annually each spring since 2012. It鈥檚 a collaboration between the AV俱乐部 Health Professionals Chorale (part of the Music-in-Medicine program), the Bedford Brass Quintet and a guest headliner. (This year鈥檚 event, currently in the works for April, will feature soul/jazz vocalist Erin Costelo.) To date, the concerts have raised more than $17,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.
鈥淚t鈥檚 grown, creatively, every year,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 fun is mashing these different musicians together and doing something that鈥檚 really unique for these sorts of ensembles.鈥�
Next up, though, he鈥檚 excited to have The Eagle and Shield play a prominent role in the .
鈥淚n my somewhat limited experience as a composer, you never know how often your music is going to be heard,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t means a lot to know that a piece has the potential to be heard by so many people.鈥�