Centennial Canon
Listen to the Centennial Canon
MENC: The National Association for Music Education Announces Winning Composition in Centennial Canon Contest
Sean Boyle’s Composition “Perpetual Canon in Four Voices” Chosen as the “Audio Logo” for the Association’s 100-Year Celebration in 2007
RESTON, VA (April 5, 2006) – “Perpetual Canon in Four Voices” by Sean Boyle is the winning composition in the Centennial Canon Contest sponsored by MENC: The National Association for Music Education. In this contest, MENC members, who are music teachers, were asked to showcase their compositional ability by writing and submitting a short canon to serve as an “audio logo” for the association’s 100th anniversary celebrations throughout 2007.
Submissions were judged based on the following criteria: aesthetic quality; ease of performance by a variety of groups (singers and non-singers); power of the text and composition to communicate the excitement of music education; and brevity and memorability.
“This canon will serve as a musical focal point for the celebration of our centennial,” said MENC member Judy Herrington, chair of the Centennial Adjudication Committee, which chose the winning composition. “The beauty of this composition is evident in the composer’s poetry and melodic writing. This work will be inspiring to performers and audiences and reminds us as educators of the importance of honoring and nurturing the artistic spirit in our students and fellow musicians.”
Sean Boyle, the winning composer, received his B.S. in Music Education from Duquesne University in 1993 and his Master’s from Framingham State College in general education in 2004. He currently teaches at the Aviano Middle and Elementary Schools on the Aviano Air Force Base in northern Italy. “Perpetual canons are traditionally symbols of the Eternal, and I thought it was such a wonderful idea of MENC’s to compose a canon about education,” said Boyle. “Education is also a powerful image of the Eternal: generations come and go, but a culture remains. Each voice in the canon is a new generation passing through its lifespan, choosing to ‘rise and sing,’ passing on the knowledge, and ensuring that it ‘will not be stilled’ with the passing of the generation.”
The composer will be recognized at the 60th MENC National Biennial In-Service Conference in Salt Lake City this month and at the MENC Centennial Celebration in 2007; his name will appear on all distributed copies of the work. The Aviano High School, also located in Boyle’s community, premiered his “Little Symphony” for high school band last year, but this is his first composition that has been made available outside of his immediate community. “I was deeply moved to learn that my canon had been chosen for MENC’s Centennial,” said Boyle. “I hope it serves the occasion well.”
For more information call 1-800-336-3768 or visit www.menc.org.
MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the world’s largest arts education organization, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. More than 120,000 members represent all levels of teaching from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC’s activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.
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