Composed for the Idyllwild Arts Academy's graduating class of 1989, this work's distinctive instrumentation owes to the fact that the Academy — then called Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA) — was then in its infancy, and the music program still quite small.

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(Being a fanfare, I may re-title it more appropriately to its style and function.

Maybe "Fanfare for the 1988 ISOMATA Graduating Class"

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A bit long.

 

(Actually the original title was Madeleine Zephyr Dance. No idea where that came from!)

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The overall mood is upbeat and cheerful, befitting a fanfare.

 

The ending chord - which lasts a little longer than one would expect and in which the various instruments end at different times (the actual direction in the score is “when you run out of breath or bow“) might represent the graduating students reluctantly stepping away from this important phase in their young adulthood.

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Or maybe it depicts dusk at the "Grotto": an enchanting spot on Strawberry Creek which every ISOMATA alumnus will remember with special fondness.

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Or maybe it's just an interesting ending.

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