Steven Capaldo has world premiere at Invictus Games
by John Threlfall | February 10, 2025 | Faculty, News, Research
When over 550 wounded warriors walk and wheel into the closing ceremonies of Vancouver’s Invictus Games, they’ll be entering to the celebratory sounds of a triumphant new fanfare, specially composed for the event by UVic School of Music professor Steven Capaldo. His “Invictus Fanfare” will be performed live at the Rogers Arena on Sunday, February 16, by frequent UVic Music collaborators, the Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific.
With Invictus participants coming from 25 different countries, Capaldo is the ideal composer for this piece: a new Canadian who received his citizenship in 2023, he served in the Australian military and has composed “celebration music” for national events before.
“The producers loved the fact that this piece was new, fresh and Canadian,” he says. “It doesn’t sound like a staid, old 1800s fanfare: it has a modern feel and a modern flare.”
Set to a tempo suitable for wheelchairs and assisted walking, Capaldo was surprised at how quickly he was able to compose the three-minute fanfare.
“I thought about my own experiences in the military, the philosophy of the Games and how it should be a celebration but also respectful of the athletes’ particular journeys,” he says. “I also knew it needed a moment of introspection to acknowledge their sacrifice: the reason they’re at these games is because they’ve had an injury through war, through their service. I wanted to pay respect to that.”
A specialist in conducting, composing and arranging for wind ensembles, Capaldo regularly leads the UVic Wind Symphony; his own compositions have been performed by groups in Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA.
Capaldo says his fanfare was an instant hit when presented to organizers and is now in consideration as the official theme for future Invictus Games processionals. And given Rogers Arena’s 20,000-seat capacity plus the worldwide television broadcast of the closing ceremonies — which also features performances by the Barenaked Ladies, rapper Jelly Roll and blues duo The War & Treaty — this will definitely be the largest audience for any of his pieces.
Capaldo and the UVic Wind Symphony will also perform with the Naden Band on April 4, 2025, at UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium.