Salute to Service Program Notes
Salute to Service | November 7, 2025 | 7 pm | Windsor First United Methodist Church
Salute to Service | November 8, 2025 | 7 pm | Generations Church Greeley
Conducted by Dr. Frank Cook
Program Notes by Bailey Dorsey
Musicians on This Program
+Christen Adler, Horn
+Susan Fritts, Horn
Bruce Barrie, Trumpet
Dayvison Costa, Trumpet
Stanley Curtis, Trumpet
Ian Sawyer, Trumpet
Will Jones, Trombone
Drew Leslie, Trombone
Michael Peebles, Trombone
+Daniel Watt, Trombone
+Jason Byrnes, Tuba
+Leo T. Canale, Percussion
Tim Feerst, Timpani/Percussion
+GPO member
Dr. Frank Cook conducts the GPO Brass Ensemble in 2024
Dr. Frank Cook is the Director of Bands at Laramie County Community College (LCCC) in Cheyenne, Wyoming, leading the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and the Cheyenne Brass Band. He also teaches applied tenor and bass trombone, music theory, and music history at LCCC. He has also taught at the University of Northern Colorado since 2008. In addition to his teaching duties. Dr. Cook is an active performer across the Front Range, regularly performing with the Fort Collins Symphony, Cheyenne Symphony, Longmont Symphony, and Wyoming Symphony. He currently serves as the second trombonist with the Greeley Philharmonic, a seat he has held since 2008.
The Star-Spangled Banner (2’)
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was written during the War of 1812 by American lawyer Francis Scott Key. In September 1814, Key rowed over to a British warship, seeking the release of an American prisoner. Despite a successful meeting, Key was not allowed to leave, as he had gained insider knowledge of Britain’s impending attack on Fort McHenry. On the night of September 13, 1814, there was nothing for him to do but watch the spectacle. Over 1,500 explosives were lobbed at the fort. When dawn came, Key expected the worst. To his surprise, the flag flying over Fort McHenry was not British, but American. Upon being released, Key wrote an homage to the flag on the back of an envelope. Originally called the “Defence of Fort McHenry,” the work is now better known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
American Heritage Medley (5’)
“American Heritage Medley” is a medley of songs including “Girl I Left,” “Tell Me Why,” “Mockingbird,” and “Redwing.” The composer, David Brinkman, is a former faculty member at the University of Wyoming. While originally for wind ensemble, Frank Cook arranged the medley for brass ensemble.
The Wall Street Rag (4’)
Scott Joplin is also known as the “King of Ragtime.” “Wall Street Rag” (1909) is based on the Panic of 1907, when the New York Stock Exchange took a nosedive. This piece captures the emotional turbulence of the time. The rag is melancholy at first, representing the panic, but gradually becomes happier as good times come. Interestingly, this composition is slower than most of Joplin’s other rags.
On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss (4’)
“On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss” is inspired by “It Is Well with My Soul.” The circumstances behind this comforting hymn are tragic. The author of the hymn, Horatio G. Spafford, lost a fortune in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Shortly after, he lost his four-year-old son to scarlet fever. In 1873, Spafford had a family vacation planned but stayed behind due to unexpected business complications. The rest of his family left as scheduled and boarded the ship. Tragically, the ship was involved in a collision and sank, killing Spafford’s four daughters. Spafford’s wife was the only surviving family member. As he traveled to his wife, he began writing “It Is Well with My Soul.” Despite the darkness in his life, Spafford’s hymn focuses on peace and the redemptive work of Christ. Philip Bliss later set this poem to music.
Songs for America (5’)
“Songs for America” is a medley of Berlin’s compositions. It includes “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor,” “God Bless America,” “This Is a Great Country,” and “This Is the Army, Mr. Jones.” Irving Berlin, born Israel Baline, immigrated to the United States from Russia with his family at age five to escape the persecution of Jewish people in Eastern Europe. He became one of America’s most celebrated songwriters, writing over 1,000 songs and 19 musicals in his life. He wrote many patriotic songs, most famously, “God Bless America.”
Salute to U.S.A. (4’)
“Salute to U.S.A.” is a fanfare written for the bicentenary of American independence. Gordon Jacob enjoyed writing for wind instruments and composed a multitude of chamber pieces. Jacob was a lecturer at the Royal College of Music for 40 years.
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho (3’)
“Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho” is an African American spiritual. It is believed to have been created by enslaved people during the Antebellum Era. This song tells the story of the Battle of Jericho, in which Joshua led the Israelites in the conquest of the land of Canaan. While the spiritual is about biblical victory, it also represents the hope that slavery would soon collapse, with lyrics such as, “and the walls came tumblin’ down.”
Images for Brass (6’)
Images for Brass by Stephen Bulla is a test piece for brass band competitions, meaning it is used to showcase a band’s skill. The composition requires musicians to have both the sensitivity for reflective moments and the power for warlike cries. Images for Brass was composed in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, which took place in 1945. The battle was one of the bloodiest in Marine Corps history. The first movement represents the anticipation of the conflict. Without a pause, the second movement depicts the voyage into battle. The third movement features the hymn “Melita,” while the last movement represents the confrontation of war.
The Liberty Bell (4’)
“The Liberty Bell” nearly had a different name. It was originally written for an opera called The Devil’s Deputy; however, Sousa felt he was not being paid fairly for the show and withdrew the manuscript. At the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Sousa watched a performance of America with George Hinton. In the spectacle, a backdrop of the Liberty Bell was lowered, and upon seeing it, Hinton suggested that Sousa call his new march “The Liberty Bell.” Coincidentally, Sousa received a letter from his wife the next day saying his son had marched in a parade honoring the Liberty Bell. This was enough to finalize the title. Unlike most marches, which are in cut time, “The Liberty Bell” is in 6/8.
American Patrol (4’)
A patrol is a musical genre popular in the nineteenth century that imitates a band passing by. The music grows louder and then fades, mimicking the sound of a band as it marches into and out of earshot. American Patrol by Frank White Meacham was originally written for piano in 1885. Some later arrangements include a coda section that features a rendition of “Yankee Doodle.”
Armed Forces Salute (8’)
“Armed Forces Salute” by Stephen Bulla pays homage to the military, featuring service songs in this order: “The U.S. Air Force Song,” the Coast Guard’s “Semper Paratus,” “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” the Navy’s “Anchors Aweigh,” and “The Marines’ Hymn.”
Battle Hymn of the Republic (‘4)
“Battle Hymn of the Republic” was written during the Civil War. In November 1861, Julia Ward Howe, a poet and anti-slavery activist, visited Washington, D.C., and during her travels, she heard Union soldiers singing “John Brown’s Body.” She wrote new lyrics to the tune and sold her poem to the Atlantic Monthly for $5 in 1862. The song was an immediate hit with Union soldiers and supporters as it both denounced slavery and suggested that God was on the North’s side.
The Stars and Stripes Forever (4’)
John Philip Sousa was an impactful American musician, conductor, and composer. For 12 years, he was the director of the United States Marine Band, which he helped elevate to a renowned touring ensemble. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” was written in 1896 and was inspired by the homesickness Sousa felt as he traveled back to the United States from Europe. This piece eventually became a signature piece of Sousa’s ensemble and was performed at every concert.
Honoring GPO Service Members
Doran Azari - Army National Guard: 19th Special Forces (Green Berets)/140th Signal Battalion (1980-1992)
Jason Byrnes - Army National Guard: 101st Army Band (1991-Present)
Leo Canale - U.S. Air Force: USAF Band of the Rockies/USAF Academy Band (1999-2000)
Kathleen Cook - U.S. Air Force: USAF Heritage of America Band/Dir. of AF Public Affairs/ Dir. of AF Services (1982-2018)
Susan Fritts - Army: U.S. Army Field Band (1983-1986)
Heike Gazetti - U.S. Air Force: USAF Academy Band (1998-Present)
Lowell Graham - U.S. Air Force: USAF Band - Washington, DC (1974-2002)
Robert Vitale - U.S. Air Force: USAF Academy Band (2013-Present)
Windsor Color Guard
Jim LeLievre - US Army, Color Guard Captain
Mark Hately - US Army
Eric Salisbury - US Army
Robert Traynor - US Army
Van Howell - US Army
Brad Irion - US Navy
Eaton VFW: Color Guard for Greeley Concert
Emilio Vallejos - US Marine Corps
Desmond Welch - US Marine Corps
Steve Kanten - US Navy
Percy Hamilton - US Air Force
Chris Catron - US Army
Mike Posey - US Air Force
Rebecca Proctor - Auxiliary
Salute to Service is sponsored by Baessler Homes, Sky Commercial Cleaning, Allo Fiber, Gary Hogan - RE/MAX Commercial, and Generations Church.
Thank you to Colonels Debby and Al Baker for their many years of military and community service. It is our honor to dedicate this year’s performance of Salute to Service in memory of Colonel Al Baker.