Dwayne Milburn (b. 1963) is a composer and conductor whose decorated career has spanned academic, military, and professional settings. Originally from Baltimore, he pursued undergraduate studies at UCLA before landing at the United State Military Academy at West Point as the Director of Cadet Music. Subsequent studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music (MM in Orchestral Conducting) and a return to UCLA (Ph.D. in Music) punctuated a distinguished career as U.S. Army Band conductor, which took him around the world. He has composed and arranged music for a variety of genres and ensembles throughout his career, many of which are collected on his SoundCloud page. He is spotlighted at the Wind Repertory Project, UCLA (where he remains on the faculty), Kjos, and the U.S. Army website. He was also interviewed by the Cleveland Pops Orchestra as part of their 2021 Black History Month celebration.

Milburn wrote American Hymnsong Suite in 2007. His program notes describe how the piece came into being and how he approached the four tunes in the suite:

American Hymnsong Suite is firmly rooted in my family history as church musicians. I grew up singing and playing many different hymns, including the four tunes featured in this work. The final impetus to compose this particular treatment came during the course of an organ concert in Atlanta, Georgia. One section of the program featured innovative settings of three hymns. With the gracious consent of composers Joe Utterback and Brooks Kukendall, I adapted their settings to act as the inner movements of the suite, bracketed with my own original treatments of favorite hymns.

The Prelude on Wondrous Love (“What Wondrous Love is This”) opens with a chant-like statement of this Southern tune before proceeding to a more kinetic retelling. Ballad on “Balm in Gilead” features a rich jazz harmonization of this familiar spiritual. The Scherzo on “Nettleton” (“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”) contains all the rhythmic playfulness inherent in the best orchestral third movements, and the March on “Wilson” (“When We All Get to Heaven”) calls to mind the wildest marching band ever heard.

While audience members will certainly make various connections to this piece, the ongoing goal is to introduce all listeners to the richness of our American musical heritage.

Here is the entire suite in performance:

Each movement takes on hymn as its inspiration. The source material abounds on the internet.

I. “What Wondrous Love Is This” in a contemporary version:

II. “Balm in Gilead” in a legendary performance by Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle:

III. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” also known as “Nettleton”:

IV. “When We All Get to Heaven” or “Wilson” as featured in a real life church service:

See more about American Hymnsong Suite at J. W. Pepper and the Wind Repertory Project. You can also view the full score at Kjos.