Steve Dunn, associate professor of music and director of instrumental studies in the Alabama School of the Arts at the University of Mobile, is a composer/arranger/orchestrator with approximately 300 works in catalogs of numerous publishing houses. J.W. Pepper, the largest distributor of sheet music in the world, just named his composition, “A New Horizon,” an “Editor’s Choice” selection as one of the year’s best new band compositions from all publishers. We asked Dunn to tell us more:
“We host the University of Mobile High School Honor Band on our campus every February. Starting with the 2014 Honor Band, I began an annual tradition of composing a piece for that group to premiere as part of their experience with us. The 2021 Honor Band was particularly challenging, occurring during the heart of the pandemic – the event was held under a half-open tent on our lawn, it was unusually cold and wet, but we DID manage to pull it off and were one of the only universities across several states to do so. It turned out to be a real success for us that bled over into record-high participation in this year’s Honor Band as well.”
“Because of the circumstances, I wanted to compose something that would be upbeat, joyful and hopeful. I titled the piece ‘A New Horizon’ and it was well-received by the students. Carl Fischer, a well-regarded publisher of educational and professional music, accepted the piece and it was released in May of this year. I have had choral works over the years selected as a J.W. Pepper ‘Editor’s Choice,’ but this is my first work for band to be so named.”
The University of Mobile Honor Band will be held February 9-11, 2023. To learn more about UM Honor Band for students in grades 9-12, visit umobile.edu/honorband or email Steve Dunn at sdunn@umobile.edu. For more information about the Alabama School of the Arts at the University of Mobile, go to umobile.edu/asota or call 251.442.2222.
Kathy Dean uses her passion for storytelling and “playing with words” to share the stories of people, place and purpose that make the University of Mobile unique. As associate vice president for university communications, she manages media relations, edits the TorchLight alumni magazine, and oversees university communications. A former award-winning journalist, she is a two-time recipient of the Baptist Communicators Association grand prize for feature writing. Kathy and her husband, Chuck, live with three extremely loud miniature schnauzers.