Lament And Jig For Mickey

Composer(s) / Arranger(s): Gary P. Gilroy

Performance Time: 4:51  |  Grade: 3  |  Style: Contemporary

Lament And Jig For Mickey was composed in memory of the composer’s father, Michael R. Gilroy, who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on December 22, 1921 and died in Newark, California on June 28, 2007. The composition pays tribute to the family’s Irish heritage in both a sorrowful and celebratory manner.

Gary P. Gilroy was the sixth born in a family of eight children of Michael and Regina Gilroy who were married well over 50 years. A graduate of the University of Kentucky and Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA), Michael R. Gilroy enjoyed a successful career as an Electrical Engineer. The composer attributes much of his success as a high school band director to the upbringing his mother and father gave him, and his brothers and sisters. In the words of the composer:

“My father was a strict man who had a no-nonsense attitude. We learned early on in life to respect our elders and do as we were told. Because of this way of life, I think I developed an instinct very similar to my dad’s in everything I did as a high school band director.

After my father retired from his main career he took on a part time job teaching math at Chabot Community College in Hayward, California. I was already a teacher myself for some years and enjoyed his stories about how he ran his classes. He was very strict and would invite students to leave the classroom if they were not on task. He also did not allow students to enter his classroom late. I would bet that much of this kind of discipline was just the way of life that he knew growing up in the United States Army and the University of Kentucky, among other institutions.

Good discipline is a must in a successful high school band program, or at any level, for that matter. It certainly helped shape me into the person that I am today and I like to think that it continues to shape my students in the same positive manner. I attribute that successful characteristic to my dad, Michael R. Gilroy, for the firm and consistent upbringing he gave me. I dedicate this short composition to his memory with the highest level of respect and admiration.”