Meet the Composers Who Wrote for Fremont's Hopkins Junior High

To honor the success of the instrumental music groups of Hopkins Junior High School, and to benefit its future music students, the community in 2013 donated a gift to commission music for Hopkins’ Instrumental Music Program. The first commissioned piece, entitled Miraj, was composed by Richard Meyer. In March 2015, Hopkins Advanced Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself, presented the world premiere of his work at Ohlone College, Fremont. This was the first time in recent history that a guest composer had written an original piece of music for a school ensemble in Fremont! Following this, Ancient Runes, composed by Dr. Andrew Boysen, Jr. for Hopkins Wind Ensemble, was premiered in May 2016. Also commissioned for Hopkins Wind Ensemble, …in the silence of the canyon by Dr. Jack Stamp made its debut in May 2019.

The three music educators/composers (plus other guests) have been invited to appear in Jenny Lin Foundation's webinar series which features a diverse group of successful musicians. These Zoom sessions run for 4 weeks Monday to Wednesday evenings from 6:45-8:00 p.m. and are presented as the Foundation's Summer Music Program 2020. The interactive session featuring Dr. Boysen & Dr. Stamp is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24, and the one featuring Mr. Meyer for Tuesday, June 30.

You may choose to attend one or more sessions but please do register asap for the Foundation's Summer Music Program 2020 at www.jennylinfoundation.org. All students entering 6th grade & up and adults are welcome to attend and ask questions.

Here is the background of each of the noted composers:

Dr. Andrew Boysen, Jr. earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music, Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, and Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Iowa. He is a professor in the music dept. of the University of New Hampshire, where he conducts the wind symphony and teaches conducting and composition. He remains active as a guest conductor and clinician, appearing with high school, university and festival ensembles across the U.S., Great Britain, and Australia.

Dr. Jack Stamp is currently adjunct Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he teaches conducting. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Stamp served as Director of Band Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania for 25 years. In addition, he served as chairperson of the music department for six years. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from Michigan State University where he studied with Eugene Corporon.

Richard Meyer is a highly sought after music educator and maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician. For 35 years he taught string students at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in the public schools. For 22 of those years, he directed the orchestras at Oak Avenue Intermediate School in Temple City, California, and was in charge of the city’s elementary string program. Mr. Meyer is a nationally-recognized, bestselling composer with 200 compositions and arrangements in print.