While the Dew is Still on the Roses David R. Gillingham

While the Dew is Still on he Roses was commissioned by Jeff and Betsy Hornick. Jeff Hornick is the Director of Bands at McMinnville High School, McMinnville, Oregon. The work is in memory of Jeff Hornick's grandmother, Vanessa Patch. The collaboration of this project resulted as a wonderful act of providence. Jeff Hornick and I are related to each other as distant cousins, sharing a common ancestor, my great grandfather, Asbury Wellington Gillingham. Vanessa Patch was the granddaughter of Mary Ellen Gillingham-Peckham, who was the sister of Asbury Wellington Gillingham. And, as it turns out, Jeff Hornick's parents grew up in Richland Center, Wisconsin, the same town where both of my parents were raised!! What were the chances of someone in Oregon and someone in Michigan discovering this lineage? After Jeff Hornick and I made this amazing connection, I was convinced that this commission was tailor-made for me.

The work is based on two lovely old hymns that were played at the memorial service for Vanessa Patch, In the Garden (words and music by C. Austin Miles), and Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling (words and music by Will Thompson). The overall mood of the piece exudes reflection and hope with the exception of an interlude (m. 73-93) that alludes to the mystery of death.