World Premiere of Be Ever the Hope

Jay Kennedy

On February 20, 2022, we are thrilled to return to the stage of Pick-Staiger Concert Hall with Coming Home. This celebratory concert will feature the world premiere of Be Ever the Hope. This serene and reflective work was written by NU alumnus Jay Kennedy and dedicated to Northshore Concert Band’s Artistic Director Mallory Thompson.

Jay Kennedy is currently Executive Officer; Vice President for Academic Affairs/Vice Provost at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He first joined the faculty at the Berklee College of Music in 1994 as the chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production Department. Prior to his work in collegiate education, Kennedy composed and produced music for hundreds of television commercials (Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Pontiac, Levi's, Nike, etc.). His music has been heard in feature films (Wayne’s World, Lethal Weapon 2), television series (One Tree Hill, Felicity), and he was a 2002 Grammy Award finalist for arrangements on Virtuosi by Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone. Kennedy is also active in the marching arts as an adjudicator and clinician and was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame in 2007. About Be Ever the Hope, Kennedy shares the following:

The writing of Be Ever the Hope came at the request of Mallory Thompson, conductor of the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Northshore Concert Band. She asked for a slow piece that would be melodic, lyrical, convey a sense of positivity, and be playable by a wide range of concert bands.

The form is typical of a song – introduction, verse 1, chorus 1, verse 2, bridge, chorus 2, outro. The introduction contains foreshadowing snippets of the primary melodies of the verse and chorus, interspersed with percussion metallic sparkles. An oboe solo initiates the first theme (verse) and the brass responds with the second theme (chorus). The orchestration expands and moves forward through a bridge section to culminate in an emotional climax at the end of the second chorus passage.

The writing of the piece flowed easily, but finding the right title was a challenge. With certain pieces, the title becomes evident at some point in the writing process. But in other situations, such as in this case, the writing finishes, while the right title remains only a vague notion. The reason for writing the piece was because of Mallory. Aside from being an incredible musician, she is a very hopeful person. I believe the piece reflects that quality in her and the piece is for her. As I reflected on those thoughts, the right title of the piece became clear – Mallory’s middle name is Beth.