Remember Who You Are (Band Gr. 4)

A great way to showcase the power and emotion of your group in concert or at festival, this work celebrates the career of retiring St. Louis band director. His students’ favorite quote is the title of this work, as his instructions for any performance was to simply say, “Remember Who You Are.” This piece honors his life and the lives of all music teachers who make it to retirement, touching thousands of lives along the way. Music teaches us much more than music.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Series: Ruby Band Series
Level: 4 | Duration: 5:50

Instrumentation
Transposed Score (11"x17" spiral bound)

Piccolo
Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe 1
Oboe 2
Bassoon
B-flat Clarine
t 1 B-flat Clarinet 2
B-flat Clarinet 3
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1
Alto Saxophone 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1
B-flat Trumpet 2
B-flat Trumpet 3
F Horn 1
F Horn 2
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
B-flat Euphonium T.C.
Tuba

Timpani
Xylophone
Chimes
Vibraphone
Percussion 1 [2 players]: Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Suspended Cymbal
Percussion 2: 4 Concert Toms

Program Notes
Everyone who has ever been in band has a collection of their directors’ favorite sayings, such as “If you’re on time, you’re late!” or “Do your job great or small, do it well or not at all,” or “No! Your other right foot!” This piece was written for the retirement celebration concert of Doug Hoover, longtime band director for Parkway Schools in St. Louis, MO, and an important music education leader in the state.

Doug’s former students have a list of “Hooverisms” a mile long, but their favorite is the title of this work. Instead of reciting a long diatribe of do's and don’ts before a performance, Doug would simply say, "Remember Who You Are." This saying encapsulates his entire teaching philosophy: music teaches us much more than music.

Not everyone who begins a music-teaching career in public schools will make it to retirement. Those who do deserve special recognition for the thousands of lives they deeply impact along the way. Students will never forget their band director. And every successful music teacher owes his or her career to a successful music teacher. Here’s to passing on the baton to a younger generation. Remember Who You Are.