ANTHONY O'TOOLE
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Now is the Time
​
(A Song of Hope)

for Symphony Orchestra
Now Is The Time (A Song of Hope) was written in the Fall of 2013 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech given on August 28th 1963. The work is a tribute to Dr. King’s life and his work as well as the many other civil rights activists that fought so courageously for equality and an end to racial injustice in the 1950’s and 60’s. But overall this piece is a musical portrayal of the pursuit of freedom and equality that many in our country still dream of.

In his speech Dr. King asks for the United States to hold true to it’s founding doctrines of equality for all men and women, and freedom from oppression. The piece begins with a clarinet solo, so simple and pure. It represents the basic ideals of our founding fathers and the American dream. So as our country began with these ideals the piece starts with this motive and it appears throughout the work as the dream Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of was the in all actuality, the American dream.
The first theme heard initially in the clarinet develops and blossoms into a hymn-like setting with the low winds and strings. Expressive solos from trumpet and again clarinet weave around the chorale texture, and as the chorale decays the flutes echo the theme. The next section introduces a new theme, foreshadowed by the trumpet solo earlier in the piece. This theme is humbly stated by the oboe and bassoon, then again by the brass. We now enter a lush dreamy soundscape that accompanies the solo English horn. The music becomes nobler and with the entrance of the snare drum signals the march on Washington that happened earlier that day. Out of the dream marches the reality of the civil rights movement implementing Dr. King’s dream and demanding the rights guaranteed to all men and women by the constitution. After the bold climax the piece slowly winds down, gradually fading off to the distance revisiting the dream-like textures from earlier in the piece. The song ‘We Shall Overcome’, which was in a way the anthem of the civil rights movement, is played briefly by the solo clarinet. The percussion and strings create a shimmering layer of tremolos and arpeggios while the brass states the second theme in broad strokes over musical canvas created by the shimmering layer. The timpani restates the martial drumbeat of the snare drum earlier, signifying that the movement for equality still marches on into the present day as our country and the rest of the world continue to address the issue of equality, human rights and discrimination.

Recorded by the George Mason University Orchestra; Dr. Dennis Leyendecker conducting.
​

Anthony O'Toole · NOW IS THE TIME (A SONG OF HOPE) for Orchestra
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  • Home
  • Biography
  • Music
    • Band >
      • Grade 2-3 >
        • Anthracite
        • Industrial Complex
      • Grade 4 >
        • ...As it is in Heaven
        • The Beltway Breakdown
        • Frenetico
        • First Snow
        • Hung Aloft the Night
        • Longing
        • Metamorphosis
        • Once in Royal David's City
        • Pastorale
        • Pro Humanitate
      • Grade 5 >
        • The Battle Cry of Freedom
        • The Crossroads
        • Dash
        • Electrons Dancing
        • Fanfare to "The Hammer"
        • Latin Dance Movements
        • Now is the Time (A Song of Hope)
        • Prelude to Something Big
        • Uncommon Valor
        • Up
        • War Machine
    • Orchestra >
      • String Orchestra >
        • The Gardener
        • Locum Sacrum
        • Pastorale
        • Talcott Notch
      • Chamber Orchestra >
        • Divertimento
        • Fathom
      • Frenetico
      • Light up the Night
      • Now is the Time (A Song of Hope)
    • Brass Ensemble / Brass Band >
      • Brass Band >
        • DoubleThink
        • Frenetico
        • Kingsfold Variations
        • Syzygy
        • Saturnalia
      • A Beauty Untold
      • Concrete Waves
      • Elegy
      • Deep River
      • From Above
      • First Snow
      • The Golden Gate
      • Kingsfold Variations
      • Latin Dance Movements
      • A New Birth of Freedom
      • Phalanx
      • Theme & Variations on A Mighty Fortress
    • Chamber Ensembles >
      • Brass >
        • Brass Quintet >
          • A Christmas Fantasy
          • Quintet No. 1
          • Quintet No. 2
        • Ad Astra
        • Colloquy
        • Jam-Bourrée
        • Introit
        • Iridescence
        • Liturgical Suite
        • Pedal to the Metal
        • Zelienople Suite
      • Low Brass >
        • Quartet >
          • 2011: A Tuba Odyssey
          • Ascend
          • Bittersweet Memories
          • Cantus Firmest
          • FYEWZ
          • Passage to Atlantis
          • Scarborough Variations
          • Shake and Bake
          • The Summit
          • War Machine
          • War Tubas
        • Sextet - Ensemble >
          • Animal Style
          • Big Orange Sky
          • Blowfest
          • BLOWFEST II
          • Celebratio
          • Child's Play
          • DoubleThink
          • Journey Through Space
          • Partita No. 1
          • Preghiera
          • System
      • Strings >
        • Cadgwith Caper
        • Happy Birthday Fugue
        • String Quartet No. 1
      • Woodwinds >
        • The Catacombs of Callixtus
        • Chicken Scratch
        • Finzi's Brain
        • Flea Circus
        • Partita No. 4
        • Quintet No. 1
        • Silva Sanctum
    • Choral - Voice >
      • Our Heart
      • Longing
      • The Road to Twilight
    • Concerti & Solo >
      • Unaccompanied - Duet >
        • 3 Miniatures
        • BOOM!
        • Funky Lumps
        • Krump
        • Stages
        • Topaz
        • Xocotzin
      • Solo with Large Ensemble >
        • Coalescence
        • Concerto for Euphonium
        • Concerto for Marimba
        • Concerto for Tuba No. 1
        • Concerto for Tuba No. 2
        • Double Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Euphonium
        • Full Circle
        • HiJinks
      • Solos and Duos with Piano >
        • Chronicles
        • Full Blast
        • The Immortal Game
        • Partita No. 3
        • Sea Isle Rhapsody
        • Sonata for Euphonium
        • Sonata for Trumpet
  • Arrangements
  • Residencies / Engagements
    • 2015 Young Composer Mentor Project
    • Colorado State University - Pueblo
    • Fort Wayne, Indiana
    • Marywood University
    • Hiram College
    • Irvine Valley College
    • Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra
    • Wabasha-Kellogg School District
    • Wake Forest University
    • 2017 Wisconsin All-State Band
    • Youngstown State University
  • Links
  • Contact