American composer Jack Stamp uses the hymn "Be Thou My Vision" as the basis for variations in this Prelude, expanding its harmonic foundation and embellishing it with his trademark percussion effects. A professional percussionist, Stamp uses percussion creatively to create a distinctive foundation upon which he builds a cohesive sonority in the winds and brass. He dedicated this composition to his Arkansas friends and bandmasters Dr. Tom O'Neal and Pat Ellison. Active as a composer, guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator in North America and Great Britain, Dr. Stamp is currently Conductor of Bands at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. --James Huff 23:59, March 25, 2007 (EDT) (from the program notes of The Claremont Winds, submitted with permission)