This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion opens with a pasodoble written by Santiago Lope, a Spanish composer who lived from 1871 to 1906. At age 6, Lope joined the village band playing the piccolo. One day, a military band visited his village and the band director noticed Lope, resulting in his being sent to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid where he studied violin, harmony, and composition. At age 15, he became a member of Madrid’s Apollo Theater orchestra. After becoming the principal violinist of another Madrid Orchestra, he became conductor of the Romeo Theater Orchestra. Then he moved to Valencia, where he started the Valencia Municipal Band.
The Armed Forces Day celebration this Friday and Saturday got me to thinking about how our nation’s military has sometimes been sang about in popular song.