~ In celebration of the SIA Organisation’s 60th Anniversary ~

What a ride it has been! From our humble beginnings we moved on and on; highlights range from being crowned Division 3 Champions in our first season back in Season 62 (what a way to celebrate our Golden Jubilee!) to being a Division 1 G7 organisation in all the circuits! We’ve really come a long way since our inception in Season 12. While I would’ve loved to continue the development and competitive climb of our organization, I believe that my current commitments irl would not allow me to sustain a fully competitive season, hence this season (and the next?) would be a semi-competitive, semi-administrative one. As such, we are proud to announce our new Season 72 program, “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow!”, a story of our short, but colorful history in FMA.

The name of the show comes from a quote that originally alludes to the briefness of the human lifespan. This phrase was first recorded in John Calvin's Life and Conversion of a Christian Man (1549): “This proverb that man is here today and gone tomorrow”. Nowadays, this quote is used to define something that lasts for only a short time. While 10 seasons isn’t really considered a short term in relative to real life (1 season is about 6 weeks (?)), it went by pretty quickly. I guess time flies when you're having fun!

The show kicks off with Philip Sparke’s Jubilee Overture, which was commissioned for the fiftieth anniversary of the British-based Virtuosi GUS Brass Band and first performed by them at the band’s Golden Jubilee Concert in 1983. It was later transcribed for wind band in 1984. The overture begins with a two-part fanfare - a brass flourish followed by a reflective chorale for the winds. This builds to a climax as the flourish returns. A lively allegro follows, with many changes of meter and a robust tune from the mellos, horns and saxophones. Eventually a cantabile tune emerges briefly before the allegro returns and transitions into a repeat of the opening fanfare, which then proceeds to end off in a vivid presto coda.

Variation IX (Adagio) (popular known as “Nimrod") of Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations will serve as the ballad for this show. Elgar dedicated the work "to my friends pictured within", each variation being a musical sketch of one of his circle of close acquaintance. This variation in particular was dedicated to Augustus J. Jaeger, who was an Anglo-German music publisher and close friend of Elgar’s. In 1904 Elgar told Dora Penny ("Dorabella") that this variation is not really a portrait, but "the story of something that happened". Once, when Elgar had been very depressed and was about to give it all up and write no more music, Jaeger had visited him and encouraged him to continue composing. He referred to Ludwig van Beethoven, who had a lot of worries, but wrote more and more beautiful music. "And that is what you must do", Jaeger said, and he sang the theme of the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 Pathétique. Elgar disclosed to Dora that the opening bars of "Nimrod" were made to suggest that theme. "Can't you hear it at the beginning? Only a hint, not a quotation." This variation has become popular in its own right and is sometimes used at British funerals, memorial services, and other solemn occasions. In this show, it is used as a reflection on our fleeting existence in FMA, shining for a brief period of time.

Our drum break and closer will be something that is familiar to us all, the closing segment of the Cadet’s 2000 season production, "We are the Future". This is one of my favourite moments from the Cadets, who had a fantastic comeback season this year despite all the controversy and problems they've encountered. As a tribute to corps that inspired the formation of the SIA Cadets, I’ve decided to incorporate the closing segment of the Cadet’s 2000 season production as our drum break and closer. The music used in this segment I believe is The Promise (from Millennium Celebration) by Gavin Greenaway (My apologies if I left out another number!), which was written for the turn-of-the-millennium festivities at Walt Disney World. As one might expect for the soundtrack of such a momentous occasion, the music is alternately dramatic and uplifting, capturing both the grandeur and goodwill of the event. This segment aims to show that we still intend to leave a mark in FMA, and will be returning with a bang in future!

The program will be performed and adapted by all the performing arts groups in the SIA Organisation. In addition to our show announcement, the Re:Sound Collective will return to the field this coming season as the SIA Cadets once again as a tribute to our colorful past. The other performing arts groups in the organisation will follow suit. We hope that you enjoy our music-centric program this season, and we look forward to returning to full time competitive status sometime soon!

Music selection:
Opener: Jubilee Overture by Philip Sparke - https://youtu.be/2TO93vGf8Is
Ballad: Variation IX (Adagio) “Nimrod" from Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations - https://youtu.be/sUgoBb8m1eE
Drum Break and Closer: The closing segment of the Cadet’s 2000 season production, "We are the Future" - https://youtu.be/vq7hZ4U-Pac

I love this idea, and I appreciate the very detailed description of the show. Thank you.