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

NOW IS THE TIME (A SONG OF HOPE) for Orchestra

Anthony O’Toole began writing in his teens and has composed more than 100 works over the last 13 years, writing for virtually every major idiom and instrument. 


Mr. O’Toole is primarily self-taught as a composer but credits his mentors, Jack Stamp and Mark Camphouse as being pivotal to his development as a composer and musician. Anthony has also had the opportunity to learn and engage with many respected composers such as Richard Danielpour, Dana Wilson, Frank Ticheli, Cindy McTee, Ryan Nowlin, Drew Hemenger, George Crumb and others. 

His music has been commissioned and performed by musicians and ensembles all around the world. Mr. O’Toole’s music for wind band has been performed and recorded by some of the finest bands including the United States Coast Guard Band, The Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, ‘The President’s Own’ United States Marine Band, The University of North Texas Wind Symphony, The Singapore Wind Symphony, The Alabama Winds and others. His piece “Fanfare to ‘The Hammer’” is featured in the 10th edition of the GIA Publications series ‘Teaching Music Through Performance in Band’; which features a recording by the UNT Wind Symphony an in-depth analysis of the work. Hammer also appears in the ‘Sourcebook for Wind Band and Instrumental Music’ by Russ Girsberger, Frank L. Battisti, and William Berz. His piece 'Prelude to Something Big' is featured in Volume 11 of this series. 

He has received numerous awards for his compositions including the Grand Prize in the 2012 Garritan Composition Contest, and Second Place in the 2014 Van Galen Prize for wind chamber music. In 2014 Mr. O’Toole was inducted into the Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity as an honorary member for his musical contributions. He is also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Music Fraternity, ASCAP and The American Composer’s Federation. Anthony currently resides in Los Angeles, CA where he fulfills his commissions for new works and does orchestrations and arrangements as a freelance writer; he also serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Carson Symphony Orchestra and Staff Arranger for the Southern California Brass Consortium.

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BEN MCMILLAN (b. 1984) is an active composer and producer. His unique compositional style has lead to an increasing demand for his works. Born in Cookeville, Tennessee, Ben holds a bachelors degree in Music Composition from Tennessee Tech University. His music has been performed internationally by leading artists including Steven Mead, Sergio Carolino, Timothy Northcut, Gail Robertson, Adam Frey, The United States Army Band, Spanish Brass, Eufonix Quartet, North Texas Euphonium Quartet, and the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble. He has had performances at prestigious music venues and conferences including Carnegie Hall, the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference & Regional Conferences, the Tennessee Music Educators Conference, the US Army Band Tuba/Euphonium Workshop. He has received numerous commissions ranging from high school concert band to student chamber groups and professional solo artists. He has been nominated twice for the Harvey Phillips Award For Excellence In Composition from ITEA. Ben's works have been recorded on numerous albums ranging from doctoral dissertations to professionally produced recordings. His music is published by Cimarron Music, Potenza Music, and Absolute Brass.

NOW IS THE TIME (A SONG OF HOPE) for Orchestra

Anthony O'Toole