Phi Beta Mu premieres Homage to the Dream

July 21, 2013

Phi Beta Mu International spearheaded a consortium of member chapters across the country to commission a work in honor of the 75^th anniversary of Phi Beta Mu.

Composer Mark Camphouse was chosen and the piece, entitled Homage to the Dream, was premiered at the annual clinic/convention of the Texas Bandmasters Convention held in San Antonio, TX on July 21, 2013.

In addition to hundreds of band directors, in the audience were over 1,600 high school students, a scheduled activity as part of the TBA Student Leadership Day.

The work was beautifully performed by the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony with the composer conducting.

Dr. Nicholas Williams (Alpha Chapter) is the conductor of the group and graciously agreed to have his group premiere the work.

The work also commemorates the 50^th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech of August 28, 1963, I Have a Dream.

• Read the speech [courtesy of the National Archives]
• View video of speech

Texas’ Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Mu (founding chapter) also celebrated its 75^th anniversary and was pleased to be a contributor/host to the commission’s premiere.

Mark Camphouse conducting the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony

[l to r]: Mark Camphouse [composer]; Keith Bearden [Vice President, International Phi Beta Mu]; Dr. Nicholas Williams [conductor, Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony]; Danny Prado [President, Alpha Chapter]

PBM VP Keith Bearden presenting appreciation plaque to composer Mark Camphouse

Mark Camphouse’s appearance at TBA was sponsored by Phi Beta Mu International (Paul Worosello, President; Sheryl Bowhay, Immediate Past President), and Texas Bandmaster Association (Fred Velez, President; Mike Brashear, Executive Secretary).

Contributing chapters to the commissioning project were:

Alpha (Texas) Alpha Chi (Virginia) Alpha Theta (Nebraska) Beta (Oklahoma) Gamma (Indiana) Delta (Mississippi) Epsilon (Louisiana) Zeta (Georgia) Eta (Tennessee) Theta (South Carolina)

Iota (Kansas) Kappa (Colorado) Mu Alpha (Alberta, Canada) Nu (Pennsylvania) Xi (Illinois) Omicron (Arkansas) Rho (Alabama) Phi (New Mexico) Psi (Kentucky)

Project chairs for the commissioning project were:

• Elva Kaye Lance (Delta Chapter)
  Director of Bands at Mississippi State University; International Board Phi Beta Mu
• Keith Bearden (Alpha Chapter)
  Professor Emeritus Texas Tech University; International Vice President Phi Beta Mu