Photo Provided David J. Westfall, his wife Luisa and son Richard Westfall in 1973.

A son is offering a march his father began writing while a student at Tyler County High School for free for bands and orchestras to perform in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday.

David J. Westfall was 16 when he began writing the “March of Freedom,” a composition that only existed in handwritten form before the advent of modern methods to write and record music in digital form, Rich Westfall, his son, said. Everything was written by hand on staff paper, he said.

“He didn’t have the benefit of a computer to write it,” Westfall said.

The senior Westfall died in 2022 at the age of 81. He could play the piano by ear at the age of 4 and wrote piano pieces when he was a teenager.

Westfall joined the Army after graduation from college and was a staff arranger for the 7th Army Soldier’s Chorus and the 33rd Army Band in Heidelberg, Germany. He furthered his education in music after honorable discharge from the Army at West Virginia University in 1972 and doctorate level coursework at the University of Cincinnati and Case-Western Reserve at Cleveland.

David J. Westfall

“March of Freedom” has been performed by the Army band in Heidelberg. A version with a string section was later added and performed by the Southeast Ohio Symphony Orchestra, Westfall said.

The U.S. Army Field Band recorded the march and sent his father a tape that became a family keepsake, Westfall said.

“That is what allowed me to hear the march and come back to it all these years later,” Westfall said.

Westfall left a lot of music when he died, including the manuscripts for the “March of Freedom.”

In 1974, he was commissioned by the West Virginia Arts and Humanities Council to write a piece for the U.S. Bicentennial. The result was Symphony No. 2, “A Song for All Nations.”

Photo Provided The actual manuscript from the “March of Freedom” that David J. Westfall began writing while a student at Tyler County High School. The manuscripts have been digitized and are being made available for free to bands and orchestras for the 250th anniversary of the nation by his son, Richard.

He also wrote two operas about George Washington, Westfall said.

Westfall began digitally transcribing the “March of Freedom” and thought the 250th birthday of the nation would be a perfect time to release the march.

It was not an easy task, Westfall said. Westfall, who became a video editor, said the piano lessons he resisted taking as a child have turned out useful.

“More than 35 years later I’m making use of the piano lessons he gave me,” Westfall said.

With aid from freelancers from around the world, Westfall began work on the manuscripts.

“I spent the better part of last summer having his handwritten manuscripts transcribed and proofread for the newly digitized scores,” he said.

The result is the score can be downloaded now, Westfall said.

The march is in two arrangements by his father, concert band and orchestra. Westfall said he is ready to share the music with bands and orchestras across West Virginia and the country to celebrate the anniversary.

The sheet music is free and radio stations can download a free audio file of the march, Westfall said.

Groups that would like to have a free download of the score can submit a request at DavidJWestfall.com until July 4. The march has also been posted on a YouTube channel created for his father’s music at https://www.youtube.com/@DavidJWestfall.

“I believe the ‘March of Freedom’ could become one of America’s favorite marches for patriotic celebrations,” Westfall said. “It stirs very patriotic and inspirational emotions.”

A brass band arrangement by Andrew Wainwright of the “March of Freedom” will be available in the near future to music groups, Westfall said. The Illinois Brass Band will feature it on its summer concert schedule.