Jack Stamp (b. 1954) is an American composer and conductor whose work in both fields has won wide recognition. As a composer, he has more than 100 pieces to his name, mostly for wind band. Many of these were recorded by the North Texas Wind Symphony for a Composer Collection album. For 25 years, Stamp was the director of bands at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He retired in 2015, but remains active as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He is the founding conductor of the Keystone Wind Ensemble, which has released more than twenty albums of wind band recordings. Stamp completed undergraduate studies at IUP, and continued on to graduate work at East Carolina University (Masters in Percussion) and Michigan State University (Doctorate in Conducting). His primary composition teachers were Robert Washburn and Fisher Tull. See more about Jack Stamp at his website, Wikipedia, GIA, Kjos, this 1994 interview with Bruce Duffie, and this 2008 dissertation.
Gavorkna Fanfare is one of Stamp’s most-played pieces. He wrote it in 1991 for Eugene Corporon and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory Wind Symphony. The official program notes give an account of how it came to be:
The work exploits the idea of a fanfare for full wind band, rather than the traditional brass and percussion instrumentation. The opening pyramids lead to the melodic minor third cluster heard in original and inversion simultaneously. A polychordal transition based on the upcoming “fugato” subject leads to a minimalist accompaniment to the four-part counterpoint. The opening idea returns with a coda based on the melodic minor third.
Jack Stamp told a more colorful story to the Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music:
I wish I had never named this work Gavorkna. I constantly receive calls inquiring as to the meaning of the title. It is a made-up word and a joke between Eugene Corporon and myself.
Gene called me in October 1990, stating that his Cincinnati College Conservatory Wind Symphony would be performing at the College Band Directors National Association Conference in Kansas City in February. He asked me to suggest an opener. I said, “Let me write you one. If you like it, you can have it for free. If you don’t I won’t be upset.” I wrote the piece in two days. I scored it and sent it to Gene. He called and said, “You can ignore me completely, but the fugue is boring.” I said, “How can a four-part fugue be boring?” But he was right! So, on Christmas Eve, I re-wrote the fugue by ornamenting each entrance. It made the work much stronger. To date, this is my most popular work and has launched some of the earlier works as well as provided numerous commissions. I owe Gene a lot, both as my teacher of conducting, and as a friend.
Here is the composer conducting Gavorkna Fanfare with the Eynsford Concert Band:
And a professional recording with Eugene Corporon and the North Texas Wind Symphony:
To read up on Gavorkna Fanfare, visit J. W. Pepper, the Wind Repertory Project, Wikipedia, Kjos, Stamp’s website, and the Eynsford Concert Band.