Henry Fillmore

Rolling Thunder

There's never been another screamer quite like it! Fillmore's venerable warhorse has been given a thorough looking over by one of the foremost band conductors of our time. Drawing on his years of experience with the United States Air Force Band, Colonel Gabriel has meticulously edited this formidable march for the modern band. Rolling Thunder has long been an admired and often performed work in the symphonic band repertoire. Composed by (James) Henry Fillmore in 1916, this march was a favorite of conductor Merle Evans and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The work is dedicated to Ed Hicker, who as far as the little documentation shows, was an actor and musician in the Cincinnati, Ohio area and who may have performed with Fillmore in the many pit orchestra engagements of his youth. Rolling Thunder is unique within the march oeuvre, in that its softest dynamic marking is forte! In later printings, Fillmore added the subtitle "A Trombone Ace," perhaps a tip of the hat to his own instrument and that the trombones and other bass instruments are playing to the fore from beginning to end. Fillmore also indicates that the march should be played Furioso. So sit back, close your eyes and enjoy the exciting, death defying sounds of the circus as only Henry Fillmore (our Uncle Henry) can do.