Mark Camphouse (b. 1954) is an American composer and conductor. He has written more than a dozen emotional works for wind band. He also directs the bands at George Mason University. He is the creator and editor of the series Composers on Composing for Band, published by GIA publications. He coordinates the National Band Association’s Young Composer Mentor Project which matches emerging composers with experienced professionals.
Tribute is a relatively early work in Camphouse’s oeuvre. He provides his own program note:
Tribute was composed to meet a commission from the Leader and Commander of the United States Army Band, Colonel Eugene W. Allen and his wife, Claire, to honor all American women who have served their country in the armed forces.
The work was premiered in April, 1985, at Radford University with the composer conducting the United States Army Band. Other significant pre-publication performances include those by the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of John P. Paynter. The work is ceremonial in character with two outer fanfare-like sections contrasted by a lyrical middle section. Tribute was runner-up for the 1986 Ostwald Award for band composition, sponsored by the American Bandmasters Association.
Tribute is a tough piece. It is loaded with rigorously intense rhythms. It has solos in nearly every instrument. The horn and trumpet parts pull no punches, with the first trumpet hitting an E-flat near the end of the piece and all of the horns routinely hitting high B-flats. Thankfully, the US Army Band provides a glorious reading of it: