Three Cheers is one of several pieces I wrote in response to my grandfather’s passing. The piece is intended to be a synthesis of a spiritual presence taking the form of porch wind chimes as represented in the piece by vibraphones. Initially, the vibraphones have a lack of synchronization rhythmically and harmonically. This discussion of sorts is mediated by melodic lines in the violin that ultimately fuse the vibraphone textures to quote Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa: “Three cheers for the red, white and blue.” This quote is especially haunting as it is intended to mimic the playing of this historic music on piano by a family member at my grandfather’s funeral. As it represented a goodbye at his memorial service, so too does this quote represent a goodbye in the music. Without resolving as the music does in Stars in Stripes Forever, the vibraphones fall out of synchronization and meet by chance on a final peaceful harmony.