Running Head: UNIT STUDY: TOAST TO HONOR

Unit Study

Toast To Honor by Quincy C. Hilliard

Mackenzie Webster

Kansas State University

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UNIT STUDY: TOAST TO HONOR

Unit 1: Composer

Quincy C. Hilliard (2018) was born in Starkville, Mississippi in September of 1954. He

attended elementary, middle, and high school in the Sarkville school district where he was a

trumpet player in band. According to Hilliard (2018) he, “just liked being in band.” He graduated

from Starkville High School in 1972. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from

Mississippi State University, a Masters of Music Education from Arkansas State University, and

a PhD in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Florida. He has studied under

Jared Spears and Richard Bowles. He first took an interest in composing during his time in his

undergraduate. They frequently had to compose to show they understood concepts taught to them

in theory classes (Hilliard, 2018). His true inspiration for composing came to him while getting

his doctorate, and according Hilliard (2018) he realized he just likes to write and said, “Writing

is a form of expression for me.” He enjoys writing programmatic pieces and including a lot of

motifs. Hilliard’s (2018) first big break was with his second piece he had published called

Furioso (1981). The first piece, Coty, that was set to be published perished in a fire that occurred

in the publication company’s building. It has never been published, but is on a Grammy

nominated CD.

Quincy Hilliard is frequently commissioned to compose works. In 2008, the Library of

Congress asked him to compose a work for the celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of

Abraham Lincoln. He has also been commissioned to compose for the 1996 Olympic Games in

Atlanta, as well as a score for the documentary film, The Texas Ranger. He is also frequently

invited to conduct and adjudicated worldwide. In addition to composing works, he has also

authored and coauthored multiple books. Hilliard is a scholar of Aaron Copland’s music and life,
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so the Copland estate administrators authorized him to publish the educational performance

edition, Copland for Solo Instruments (Boosey and Hawkes, 1999).

Throughout his career he has been given many awards and accolades. In 1998, he was

designated as Mississippi State’s College of Education Alumnus of the year. The next year, he

was recognized as the Outstanding Alumnus of the School of Music from the University of

Florida. In 2014, he received the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in the Classical

Music Division. In addition, he also was recognized with a second Global Music Award for his

work as a composer. In 2012, one of his pieces, Coty, was recorded on a CD that was nominated

for a Grammy Award. He has been recognized for many years by the American Society of

Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) with annual awards for the frequent performance

of his compositions.

Currently, Dr. Quincy C. Hilliard is the Composer in Residence and is the Heymann

Endowed Professor of Music at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

Unit 2: Composition

Toast To Honor (1988) was premiered at the University of Florida and was conducted by

Dr. Hilliard himself. It was played by the second band at the University of Florida at the time.

Dr. Hilliard (2018) does not remember exactly when it was premiered. It was written from 1979-

1984 when Hilliard was obtaining his doctorate degree from the University of Florida. According

to Hilliard (2018), this piece is a Grade 3 and is 2 minutes and 49 seconds in duration.

Unit 3: Historical Perspective

Toast to Honor (1988) was written as an assignment during the time Dr. Hilliard was at

the University of Florida obtaining his doctorate from 1979-1984. At the time, he and his teacher

Richard Bowles agreed he would write a piece during his time there. Hilliard knew he wanted to
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write a march because he had never written one before. During the time the piece was being

composed, Hilliard (2018) said he had a requiem of pitches in his head that helped him write the

piece.

Unit 4: Technical Considerations

Toast To Honor (1988) has a traditional instrumentation for a concert march for a wind

band. Unique instruments needed would be the Piccolo, Eb Clarinet, Alto Clarinet, and Contra-

Alto Clarinet. This piece could still be played without those instruments as their parts are

doubled in different sections. The piece is in a simple 2/4 at the march tempo of 120 bpm. It only

has one section that slows down to a majestic 80 bpm. This occurs from m. 137 to the end of the

piece. This piece is of medium difficulty. The primary melodic voice stays with the Trumpets,

Flute, and Oboe through the majority of the piece, briefly going to the Clarinets and Tenor Sax

during the Trio, with a small Percussion break as well. It could be difficult for the Trumpets to

maintain balance, blend, and correct partials since they are the main melodic focus of the piece.

To tackle all of the challenges that will be presented in this piece, there will have to be isolation

of difficult parts, focus on long tones, and exercises on blend and balance.

The woodwind section has a Piccolo part, Flute part, an Oboe part, three Bb Clarinet

parts, a Bass Clarinet part, Bassoon part, two Alto Saxophone parts, a Tenor Saxophone part, and

a Baritone Saxophone part. The concert pitch ranges for the woodwinds are as follows: Piccolo,

D6-F7; Flute, D5-F6; Oboe, F4-C6; Bb Clarinet, D3-C6; Bass Clarinet, D2-D4; Bassoon, F2-D4;

Alto Saxophone C4-F5; Tenor Saxophone, D3-E4; Baritone Saxophone, B2-C#4. Overall, the

most challenging part for the woodwinds will be the leaps presented throughout the piece. There

will also be the constant need for blend and balance throughout each section, instrument type,

and entire ensemble. The Piccolo and Flute specifically have running 16th notes that will be a
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challenge. For the Clarinets specifically, their challenge is that they have to go over both breaks.

For the Alto Saxophones, they also will have to go over the break and use a side key for their

high D. All of these challenges can be overcome by isolation, repetition, and slowing the tempo

down.

The brass section has three Trumpet parts, four Horn parts, a Baritone part, three

Trombone parts, and a Bass part. The concert pitch ranges for the brass are as follows: Trumpet,

Ab3-F5; Horn, F3-G4; Baritone, Db3-D4; Trombone, C3-Eb4; Bass, Bb2-D3. Overall, the most

challenging part for the brass will be the leaps throughout the piece. Another overarching

challenge for the brass will the 16th notes presented in many sections. For the Horns, the 16th

notes are articulate, which will be challenging given the tempo. For the Trombones, their 16th

notes are slurred, so learning how to properly articulate brass slurs will be their challenge. For

the Bass part, their biggest challenge will be air support. All of these challenges can be surpassed

through isolation, long tones, slowing down the tempo, and tonguing exercises.

The percussion instrumentation is traditional consisting of Timpani, Snare Drum, Bass

Drum, Cymbal (Crash Cymbal), and Bells. This piece needs five percussionists to cover all of

the parts. The most involved parts are the snare drum and bells. The bells play in line with the

melody, so the player will have to be confident since their part will be heard over everything.

The Snare Drum is the rhythmic backing of the piece, and the rolls will pose a challenge to

someone who is not used to rolling. The conductor can help the player by giving them resources

to help them on their rolling or giving them a live example of how to roll. Throughout this piece

for all of the parts there is syncopation present, especially in the snare drum. All of the

percussionists will have to be confident in their part so they can lay the foundation for the wind

players.
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Unit 5: Stylistic Considerations

There are only two articulations that Hilliard uses in this piece, staccato and marcato

accent. The staccato is utilized in the bass line and will help keep the piece and the other players

light and bouncy to better contrast to the sections with the marcato accents. Those sections will

help the piece be performed with, as Hilliard (2018) would say, “fire and passion.” The ensemble

will have to work to stay bouncy in the lighter sections. With the more emphasized sections, the

ensemble will have to stay away from heavy and drudging. Instead, the section should be like

what was previously suggested: emphasized, pronounced, and weighted.

The dynamics of this are forte-piano, piano, forte, and fortissimo. Overall, there are not

many crescendos or decrescendos written in the piece. The first crescendo written is at m. 57,

and the first decrescendos are during the trio section. These dynamic markings are used for quick

contrast and help outline some cadence points and phrases. The percussion keeps the rhythmic

flow of the ensemble and piece, so maintaining balance will be key between the percussion and

the rest of the ensemble.

Unit 6: Musical Elements

Melody:

Overall, there are three melodies presented throughout the piece. These occur in the A, B,

and Trio sections. This piece stays in major keys with some accidentals and passing tones. The

first melody from mm. 9-40 is presented predominantly in the trumpet section, but also in the

flute, oboe, Bb clarinets, and alto saxophones. Trumpets throughout the piece are either in triads,

as presented in Figure 1, or inverted triads when they are not in unison. In this section, they

outline the chordal structure.

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Figure 1, Trumpet part in constant triads

This opening melody is the most fanfare like section but is only heard at the beginning of the

piece and does not return later. It is presented in multiple instruments and in different octaves, so

the conductor will have to work with the ensemble to get them to listen across and identify other

instruments with like parts so that they can better balance and blend with one another.

The second melody occurs from mm. 41-72. It is presented in a call and response theme

predominantly between the trumpets and the low brass, low reeds, and horns. The trumpets are in

unison during their call, and the low brass, low reeds, and horns are in unison during their

response. This is the dog fight section and is more weighted and pronounced that the previous

fanfare section, which was lighter.

The third and final melody is introduced in the trio section, which occurs from mm. 73-

104. At this point, the key changed from F Major to Bb Major. Here, the melody is played by the

Bb Clarinets, Tenor Saxophone, and Bells. The dynamics shift greatly at this section and are at

an almost constant piano instead of forte or fortissimo like in previous sections. It is more

delicate and connected than the previous fanfare and dog fight sections. The second time this

melody comes back is from mm. 121-152. Here instead of having just Clarinets, Tenor Sax and

Bells play, now it is the same instrumentation as the first fanfare section, but with an ornamented

flute part on top. The first strain of the melody goes by at the standard 120 bpm, but at m. 135

there is a two bar ritardando going into the final strain of the piece. The instrumentation stays
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UNIT STUDY: TOAST TO HONOR

the same, but the tempo is more drawn out, and dynamics are the same as they were in the very

beginning of the piece.

Harmony:

The harmonics of Toast To Honor (1988) are pretty standard. Whoever is not playing the

melody at the time is supporting with the diatonic harmonic line. While the harmonic structure is

not exactly like Figure 1, all of the notes played are in the chords presented throughout the piece.

Most of the time it is the Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Tenor Sax, Horns, Baritone, and Trombones.

The section with the most non-chord tones is in the Trio and the final strain of the piece. The

most prominent ornamented section is the final strain of the piece with the flute and piccolo part.

They have running 16th notes that does stay in the key but ornaments a lot of passing tones.

With the harmonies combined with the melody, the conductor and ensemble will have to

take into considerations the different pitch tendencies of the instruments and the parts of the

chords being played to be able to get the best blended sound.

Rhythm:

The rhythms of Toast To Honor (1988) are standard for a Grade 3 piece. Dotted eighth-

sixteenth notes and syncopation being the most predominant. Those rhythms, in addition to the

syncopation throughout multiple parts, and the ornamented flute/piccolo line is what give this

piece its difficulty. The snare drum is the instrument with the most continuous use of 16th notes

and syncopation throughout the piece. Snare drum is the rhythmic backing to this entire piece.

The only section the snare drum does not play is during the trio, but at that point it switches to

the horns and the optional trombones with the rhythm presented in Figure 2.
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Figure 2, Supporting Rhythm

The Bass Drum, Crash Cymbals, Bari Sax, and Bass part has a constant quarter note or 8th note

rhythm throughout the piece. They also help keep the rhythmic integrity of the piece.

Timbre:

Throughout Toast To Honor (1988) there are four shifts in texture, timbre, and mood.

The first theme as stated in Section A is a fanfare section that is light and bouncy with the

trumpets dominating most of the bright texture and mood. The bright texture is caused by where

the trumpets and upper woodwinds are at in their ranges. Here the ensemble could picture a

rubber bouncy ball when describing the feel.

The first texture shift occurs at section B. The main melody and focus of this section is

still in the trumpets, but also is given to the low brass and low reeds. Each instrument grouping is

in unison, which intensifies the sense of power. At this point, the trumpets are in unison with

lower pitches, this helps create the dark and weighted feeling of the section. In addition to the

trumpet playing a lower pitch, the low brass and reeds also have the help of the bass voices. This

helps with the overall feel. To help accurately play the more marcato section, the ensemble could

think of still playing bouncy. Instead of a rubber bouncy ball, the ensemble could think of

bouncing a basketball. This will help with keeping the notes separated and weighted, but not

heavy.

The second texture shift occurs when the piece goes into the trio. Here we do not have

any brass playing the melody. Here Bb Clarinet perform in their lowest register and lowest part

of their range, tenor saxophone is written in the same octave as the Bb clarinets, and the Bells
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riding on the top. This section still has a dark mood, but changes to smooth and connected. This

is created by the continuous slurs in the wind instruments and putting the clarinets in the lowest

part of their range and register. The ensemble could picture themselves wading through melted

chocolate to help them accurately play the style that is wanted. This feeling could be enhanced if

the conductor smooths out their patter and possibly go into a macro four.

The next change is a 16-measure percussion break. This section does set up the next shift

in mood very nicely. This happens by the chromatic and the ascending leaps in the Bells. The

next texture shift occurs after the percussion break with the final theme being presented, where

the entire ensemble is playing. The melodic line is still the same as the trio, but now the trumpets

and alto saxes have been added. Everyone is playing in their middle register and range. There are

a lot of parts that are in unison and help the section feel triumphant. The added ornamentation of

the Flute, making the piece feel like it will soon be coming to an end.

The final texture shift comes from the ritardando in mm. 135-136. This brings the piece

to a boisterous and spirited, but majestic ending with the tempo now being drawn out. Emphasis

on separation and emphasis will be very important. The same instrumentation is playing from the

previous section, but both the ensemble and conductor will have to be aware to not let the ending

drag and sound forced. Overall, this piece should sound how the composer wanted; spirited and

with fire and passion.

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Unit 7: Form and Structure

Measure Section: Musical Tonal

Number: Considerations: Center:
mm. 1-8 Introduction  2/4 time signature is present throughout F Major
the entire piece.
 Strong introduction at 120bpm with the
trumpet parts in an inverted triad
making an initial call with the low brass
coming in as a response.
 Four 16th notes lead up to the tonic.
mm. 9-24 A  The main melody is in the Upper F Major
Woodwinds and Trumpets.
 The harmonic line is present in Low
Reeds, Horns, and Low Brass.
 The snare line rhythm repeats the same
in the next section with battery
percussion.
mm. 25-40 A’  The main melodic theme is repeated F Major
with a few chordal and rhythmic
changes at the end of the section.
 The melodic line and harmonic line
holders stay the same along with the
percussion.
mm. 41-56 B  This is a more triumphant section with F Major
some call and response between the
Trumpets and Low Brass.
 Bass and Bari Sax have been laying
down a bass line throughout the piece.
 All other instruments are assisting
rhythmically.
mm. 57-72 B’  There is a Trumpet call before changing F Major
rhythmically and modulating into the
Trio.
mm. 73-88 Trio (C)  One flat has been added. Bb Major
 This section could transition into a
macro 4 or 2 if desired.
 Clarinets and Tenor Saxophone hold the
melody at a piano while Low Brass and
Horns have a harmonic and rhythmic
accompaniment. The bass lined played
by the Low Reeds and Bass voice.
mm. 89-104 Trio (C’)  This is an exact repeat until the final Bb Major
measures of the section crescendo and
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differ rhythmically than the previous

section.
mm. 105-120 Percussion  Percussion are the only instruments Bb Major
Break (D)  Timpani comes back in and is a
prominent roll giving the tonic and
dominant.
 There is chromaticism and syncopation
present with a final leap from dominant
to tonic, leading into the final stretch of
the piece.
mm. 121-136 C  There is a repeat of the melody from the Bb Major
trio, but this time the melody, harmony,
and bass line have the same
instrumentation as the A Section.
 Flutes with the added Piccolo have 16th
note runs on top of the melody.
 This repeat of the trio is louder at a forte
instead of a piano.
 2 measures before the last section of the
piece there is a dramatic ritardando.
mm. 137-152 C’  The piece has slowed down to 80 bpm Bb Major
with a repeat of the previous section and
a crescendo up to a fortissimo.
 The piece ends with a stinger on a Bb
Major chord.
 All percussion does not let their notes
ring.

Unit 8: Suggested Listening

Works by Quincy C. Hilliard: Works by other composers:

Bridgeway March (2001)
Fuego de la Pasión (2017)
Fanfare for Freedom (2009)
Chant Ceremonium (2011)
Center Stage March (2015)
Liberty Bell March (1893) by John Philip Sousa
Alamo March (1990) arr. Swearingen
Allied Honor (1989) arr. Swearingen
Brighton Beach (2001) by William P. Latham
High School Cadets (2014) arr. Balent

Unit 9: Additional Resources

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UNIT STUDY: TOAST TO HONOR

Hilliard, Quincy C. (1988). Toast To Honor. TRN Music Publisher.

Hilliard, Quincy C. (2018, December 18). Phone interview.

“Quincy Hilliard.” School of Music & Performing Arts, 2 June 2018,

music.louisiana.edu/faculty/hilliard.