An American in Valencia was commissioned by the United States Army Band "Pershings Own" in Washington, DC in 1999. The Premiere Performance was May 22, 1999 at the Casa de Cultura in LAlcudia (Valencia), Spain by Rafael Sanz-Espirt conducting La Filharmonica Band. Woodrow English, Principal Trumpet the U. S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" as was the soloist.
The piece is in three movements in a Spanish style suggesting the grand gesture of Bull fighting.The trumpet soloist portrays a toreador with the splendor of the corrida. The first movement represents theentrance of the toreador with all of the fanfare and showmanship as he bows to the audience. The second movement is a love song in a waltz tempo. The third movement starts with the raging bull coming out ofits corral, ready for the fight. The trumpet soloist is able to contain the bull with dashing melodic figures and a cadenza leading to the final bow in victory.
An American in Valencia was awarded Finalist in the Band Composition Competition of the American Prize in 2017. One of only two Concertos with Band awarded that year. It is recorded on Mark Records with Rafael Sanz-Espirt conducting La Filharmonica Band. Woodrow English is the soloist.
Gregory Fritze is a prize-winning composer and Fulbright Scholar, as well as an active performer and conductor. He recently retired from Berklee College of Music where he was Professor and Chair of Composition, serving on the faculty from 1979 to 2016. He has written over ninety compositions for orchestra, band, chamber ensembles and soloists. He has won over fifty composition awards both nationally and internationally, including First Prize in the 1st WASBE (World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) International Composition Contest 2017, First Prize Winner of Reneé Fisher Composition Prize, First Prize Winner in Concurso Bienal de Composición de Musica para Banda, Ciudad de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain), Menzione dOnore (highest award given) of the Mario Bernardo Angelo-Comneno International Music Competition by the Accademia Angelica Costantiniana Arti E Scienze (Italy), First Prize in 1991 TUBA International Etude Composition Competition, the IBLA Grand Prize (Italy), several awards from The American Prize, Composition Awards from Standard Awards Panel of American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and many others. His compositions include works published by several publishers in the United States, South America and Europe and have been performed extensively throughout the world.
He has been a frequent traveler to Spain since 1993 and has promoted compositions by Spanish composers around the world. He is the only composer who has been commissioned six times by Spanish bands for Certamen competitions, with each band winning first prize.
He has thirty-three compositions commercially recorded on Albany Records, MSR Classics, Crystal Records, Mark Records and others. He has been a guest lecturer, conductor and performer at many colleges, universities and music festivals in the United States, Canada, Japan, South America and Europe. He was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1954 and has Composition degrees from the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University. He now resides in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida.