Patrick Burns (b. 1969) is an American composer and music educator. He has written extensively for wind bands at all levels. He founded the Bloomfield Youth Band in New Jersey when he was 17, and continues to direct that group today. He teaches at Montclair State University and New Jersey City University. His compositions, which range from beginning band to professional level, have been performed on at least 3 continents. He has received commissions from around the country. He is much in demand as a guest conductor and clinician. He is the founder of Bandworks Publications, which also houses his bio.
Burns offers his own program notes on Hometown:
I wrote Hometown for Scott Sharnetzka and the Bel Air (Maryland) Community Band. This fine ensemble has been incredibly supportive of my music and I wanted to express my gratitude to them by writing a piece for them. Hometown is a musical depiction of my impressions of beautiful Harford County, Maryland and the people I know there. The words of Garrison Keillor capture the idea of this piece wonderfully:
That yard, the tree–you climbed it once with me,
And we talked of cities that we’d live in someday.
I left, old friend, and now I’m back again,
Please say you missed me since I went away.
Check out Patrick Burns’s YouTube channel, which has performances of the great bulk of his music. Here, for instance, is Hometown performed by the Luther College Wind Ensemble: