John Burge

Commissioner: Hannaford Street Silver Band, Toronto, Ontario

Premiere: Hannaford Street Silver Band, Bramwell Tovey, conductor, St. Lawrence Centre, Toronto, Ontario, November 2, 1997.

Duration: 8.5 minutes

Program Note: Rocky Mountain Overture was commissioned by conductor, Paul Andreas Mahr, for an outdoor concert presented in the fall of 1996 by the Prince George Symphony of British Columbia.  Paul, recently appointed Music Director of this organization, had asked John Burge to compose a soncially vibrant overture that would effectively revererate around the valley setting that Prince George occupies.  As such, the resultant work makes ample use of brass and percussion while continually building from climax to climax.  The grandeaur of the setting is captured in some fo the more expressive passages while a few, well-placed silences, provide moments for the sound to echo around the performing space.

As Music Director of The Thirteen Strings of Ottawa (1993-96), Paul Andreas Mahr had been integral in the commissioning and premiering of three works composed by John Burge: One Sail, for solo cello and strings, Forgotten Dreams, for solo flute and strings and Upper Canada Fiddle Suite, for string orchestra.  The dedicataion of Rocky Mountain Overture to Paul is made with gratitude and best wishes although the compose notes with sadness that Paul died a few years later.

In the summer of 1997, John Burge rescored the work for the Hannaford Street Silver Band of Toronto for thie November, 1997 Canadian Music Concert that was conducted by Bramwell Tovey, who later conducted the work on the HSSB's CD recording of the piece.

CD Recording:The opening track of the Hannaford Street Silver Band's CD, Heavy Metal  is John Burge's Rocky Mountain Overture, with Bramwell Tovey, conducting.