Dum Spiro Spero - Chris Pilsner 

I am just as honored to have you playing my music. Thank you so much for your wonderful comments and best wishes on your performance at state! -chris

As a Euphonium player, I can say without a doubt that this piece has the best solo I have ever played

I almost cried while playing this, I struggled not to. Thank you for writing this beautiful piece.

I got to play this piece 7 years ago as a sophomore in band. There hasnt been a piece since that has touched my heart more than this has. It made a whole auditorium full of people tear up when we played it at a competition.

2 years ago this song got me through my uncles death.. I couldn't resist but to use this as my senior quote. This song is a call to me, a call to hope and live. Thank you Mr. Pilsner. -Ramiro

I’ve been looking for this song for 4 years. I forgot the name and when I started high school we played it and it was randomly recommended to me. Holy shit.

Commissioned by MY high school, where I played the euph solo, at the best year for band in my high school career. This song means more to me than anyone will ever know. Thank you so much Chris!

I just played this piece for my honor band, I had the honor of playing the euphonium solo. This piece moved me and others so much it brought people to tears. This by for is THE most beautiful piece i have ever and will ever hear!!

I played this at All-State this year and I instantly fell in love with this song. I was really honored to play this place this year and hopefully I'll get to play in the nearby future. I played French Horn!

Maybe I should have bought a cake for its birthday.... :) -chris

We played this for a music festival last year in March, and the crescendo near the end always gave me chills and made me smile. This is by far one of the most beautiful pieces I've heard or listened to.

We played this piece in our university symphonic band concert in memory of Michael, he was a tuba player in our band, and had passed away the year before, we left a seat open for him, and one of our tuba players even had his tuba. I never personally knew him but I almost cried from playing this.

Man I played this song in honor band about 7 years ago. It’s still one of my favorites, and I still remember every part.

playing oboe on this right now. sounds so good it made another oboe player cry the first time we heard it

I recently discovered 'Dum Spiro Spero' is my family's coat of arms!! Thank you Chris for the beautiful music💗💞💜

playing on tuba rn. i’m so happy my BD chose this piece. it’s so beautiful.

This is still by far my favorite song from high school. I'm sad we didn't get to play it for CBA State because of COVID

We played this in my high school band. It was a dark time for me and this song was like a balm. Lol I remember our euphonium player, the night of the concert, accidentally ran his instrument over in his driveway. Thankfully our BD had another one!! Now, so many years later, I sing it to help my baby sleep and it works so many times. Thank you for a beautiful song.

my high schools wind ensemble band played this. I litterally almost cried as i listened to it.

I would like to say I played this piece in district band my sophomore year and started tearing up while playing. Truly a moving piece. Your work will always be appreciated Mr. Pilsner

wow my family's motto is dum spiro spero and this is just amazing thank you

played this my sophomore year. just started my senior year, time sure flies by ;)

This piece is so beautiful

Thank you for your wonderful comments Mark. It's an honor to have you and your fellow students playing Dum Spiro Spero. Please pass on my regards to your fellow students and conductor as well as let me know how the performance goes! Cheers. chris

1st chair horn is just gorgeous!! Playing this in symphonic wind ensemble:) beautiful piece

As a Horn Player, this is probably the best piece I've ever played.

Chris, I played this a few years ago in a high school group and enjoyed it then, but the more I have listened, the more I have found a deep and profound love for this piece. This is splendid work. Thank you

So uh.. I know everyone's got their storys with this one and well I've got my own as well.. pur band director picked this peice as of late and well during a rehearsal he began to speak talking about his grandmother who he had lost to dementia. He saw the first part as her life before happy gleeful and bright but he also followed it up with some harrowing but impactful words. "Its hard when your in highschool to show your really emotions in fact many of you hide behind a mask everyday but if were going to play things right i want you to know it's safe to take that risk here be you and well be here to back you up dont be afraid to take the risk to be you and you'll feel your life and music soar" mr tanner. And well.. I think that's gonna stick with me for awhile thank you for this wonderful peice

I'm playing this with my middle school Wind Ensable as 1st chair flute, and lord this sounds better than we ever will lol It's an amazing song though, and I didn't realize how much I loved playing it until the full run through we did with the whole band What an amazing song

Chris Pilsner I’m so happy I found that this is your channel all I have to say is that this is definitely my favorite piece I have ever played, for me it’s like a foreshadow of my past, I see my past and I notice how much I have changed in life for the better, I’ve been through a lot in life but towards the ending of this piece it’s kind of like there’s still a little bit of hope, even in the worst times, and this piece tells me that there will always be something positive to take away out of any situation, positive or negative, and flourishing within as an individual. And that’s something I learned throughout my highschool career and on. I just wanted to let you know as well that your piece will always have a place in my heart and I could never thank you enough for making this. I love you and everything you do. (P.S. I cry every time I listen to this piece 😅) ~your biggest fan.

The music is so beautiful that you may not notice that the screen is slowly zooming in

Latin for "While I Breathe, I Hope"

Played this my freshman year of high school at Columbia high school from lake city FL and I truly miss this piece. I would do anything to go back to the day we took this to state and got straight superiors.

Played this for honor band and wow. Every horn part is beautiful..

Great work Chris...even after a few years, it has a timeless beauty

after researching my family name origin and stuff i came across my family's motto and the title of this song is that motto, never knew of this song but it is spectacular . BRAVO !!

That being said, Mr. Pilsner, the musicality in this piece is most excellent. I am totally awestruck!

Playing this for New England Music Festival!! Very beautiful and amazing

I honestly love this piece so much!❤️

My band is playing this, and I absolutely love this piece! The Euphonium part is absolutely amazing!

I'm playing this In my Wind Ensemble. This is such a beautiful piece. thank you for this creation

I played this several months ago at what would turn out to be my last high school band concert, though we had no idea at the time. We started working on it in January, during which time I was also making my final preparations for my music major auditions. I was starting to feel burnt out from focusing on tiny details in my pieces that I had been working on for months. Playing this reminded me of why I decided to pursue music in the first place. That helped give me the perspective I needed to go into my auditions with absolute certainty that that is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Thank you for putting such beautiful music in the world.

Absolutely beautiful piece of music. It's my favorite piece we're playing this semester in Symphonic band. Keep them coming Chris!!!

Played this piece in the 2011 West Virginia University Honor Band. One of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever had the honor to play. Good luck in your career Chris.

Absolutely breathtaking

Performed this in the Florida gulf coast honor band as a percussionist :) Absolutely beautiful. Thank you Chris Pilsner

I had the absolute pleasure of playing this recently in an MPA and must I say this is one of the most gorgeous pieces I've ever heard and it's so much fun to play. A true masterpiece. God bless you, Mr. Pilsner

Just played this at all county. It was fun and we performed well. Thanks for the great piece!

Beautiful...beyond words beautiful :)

Oh my Gooosh... My husband sadly passed away last year. And the whole year was very difficult. I was looking for a phrase to keep me strong and not give up. It was there that I came across this phrase: "Dum Spiro Spero". And when I heard this piece, that line comes to life, I don't know how to express in words (specially when English is not my first tongue), but it comes to life and It makes me want to cry so deeply, but at the same time, It makes me want to continue living so desperately. Thanks to create a beautiful piece...

Thank you - that was so beautiful.

As a high school band kid from Leon I saw my rival band (Lincoln) preform this at their MPA, and I was in the very front row. I was just so incredibly happy for them they were so incredibly beautiful in how they played. I don't want to even call them my "rival band" because they are basically all my friends and I love and respect them all

I am a percussion director at the local high school in my area, and they are performing this piece at their annual Music Performance Assessment in March. This piece is such a moving piece, and the dynamics make it come to life. What a wonderful piece to bring an audience to their feet.

my gosh.. My high school band(AP Leto High) did this song in my senior year and it still almost brings me to tears to this day.. Such a beautiful piece.

Our district Honor Band (in its first year) just performed this yesterday, directed by Scott Hagen (from the University of Utah). It was extremely powerful to be a part of of a performance of such an emotional song. Thank you so much for writing this gorgeous piece.

Never disappoints me.. I cry everytime I listen. Puts feeling in me no other piece has

A truly amazing piece...My High School band is playing it this year for our State MPA...I can't wait

amazing and i must say that this is the best piece i will play as a french horn player and the singing with the baritone is awesome

First flute part is gorgeous. Playing this with Carroll Symphonic band this year! :))

Mr. Pilsner, I am a sophomore trombone player at Lakewood High School in Colorado. I gotta say this is the best piece of music I have played in my life. We played this for the CBA (Colorado Bandmasters Association) State competition and got a 1, which is the best. I just want to say thank you for creating this wonderful piece and changing the definition of music in my opinion.

this piece is insanely beautiful. this is one of the options for my all district symphonic ensemble band. i really hope we play this!! also, i cried listening this

We played this for region on February. This is a touch of Heaven

Absolutely beautiful

Soo beautiful!

Absolutely Beautiful

Played this at Illinois All-State this year! Great piece

Hi Chris. I played this for my HS All County senior year, best piece I've ever had the privilege to play. Thank you for your remarkable composition. :)

I love this piece so much. I almost had the honor to play it at the University of South Carolina band clinic this year but my clinician made the unfortunate mistake of leaving it out of our program. This piece brings me to tears every time.

I played this last year in Missoula at the All-Star ensemble. It was a fantastic experience. Luckily I'll have the opportunity to go this year also. Go alto sax!!

I love this!

I’m playing this at JanFest 2020!!! Beautiful piece Chris truly amazing.

Played this at out school in memory of those who died at Stoneman Douglas. Beautiful Piece Mr.Pilsner 👏👏

Hello Mr. Pilsner! I would just like to let you know how beautiful and amazing this song is! It really conveys the message of while I breathe, I hope. My school played it for district MPA and all three judges bought our performance on CD because of your song! We made it to states and will be performing soon!! Thank you so much for creating this piece of music! :)

I love this piece sooo much. We played this on Saturday at our All District performance. The singing is so magical, and I just imagine faeries flying around.

Playing this for wind orchestra in April❤❤ I am so excited. 😊💕

WHAHOO!!! 40,000 VIEWS!!! Thank you for listening! (New Band Music coming soon... Stay tuned...) - c

Hello Mr. Pilsner, I go to Reinhardt University, and we are playing this piece in our Wind Ensemble. I just wanted to tell you how absolutely beautiful I think this piece of music is. The ending gets me everytime. So thank you, for composing this. It's already made my Freshman year of college exciting. -Mark Owens

hopefully i get to play this piece as part of a summer concert, because it's genuinely one of my favorite parts for flute. like, it's a real break from "fluff" and still provides a mild challenge

Cap Section Honor Band piece right here this year, it was beautiful 😍

This song played a big role in the grieving process for my dad, he passed away before my freshman year and I would often cry while playing this. (He passed away, March 19th 2019) I never got to perform it for my LGPE because Covid cancelled it the day before, March 14th 2020 was when I was supposed to.

We just played this at our district Saturday it was beautiful

Thank you so much for your comments. I hope your district assessment is AWESOME! -chris

This song to this day is my favorite piece of music cause if fills me with joy and sadness everytime I listen idk whether I’m crying tears of joy and sadness even to this day since I played it my freshman year I have listened and played along since

I'm performing this piece at all-northwest next weekend and I'm so excited! the instant I heard this song I felt shivers, such a beautiful and moving piece I can't wait to play it :)

Son played this at TCU band camp. First time hearing this piece. Absolutely beautiful!!

Chris, we playing this song for concert MPA, this is officially MTT band director's favorite piece. (Coming from Kathleen high school)

I convinced my college professor to let us play this beautiful piece of music.

chris, we played this song at our MPAs and we got straight superiors! i love this piece so much and the title really inspires me, so much i'm considering getting it tattood lol! also, thank you for adding a tuba solo in!!

Congratulations on the State Band Championships! Thank you for letting me know (and your kind words). Please let me know how the performance goes! -c

Played this today for All-Star wind ensemble. Great piece. Go Bass Clarinet!

I LOVE the Euphonium solo. :)

Hi Chris, Just wanted to thank you for this music, I am currently sitting listening to this song looking over the west sands of St Andrews in Scotland. The beach where the intro to Chariots of fire was filmed. Also, the "Dum Spiro Spero" is the St Andrews town motto and is on the coat of arms. Though I would share and thank you for a wonderful piece of music :)

I am a city band director. We have played this piece ever since I picked it up at a reading clinic. I had to stop in several spots to keep myself from crying. We are playing this for a benefit for Ukraine . Thank you for creating such powerful, poignant music, Chris.

Playing this on timpani for a high school band concert. It's so beautiful

Thank you so much for your very kind comments. They mean the world to me. Keep playing! -chris

This is a really beautiful song. I'm playing it for LGPE this year :)

Thank YOU for performing it and for your wonderful comments. Let me know how your performance goes! -chris

i played this piece just yesterday 😃

I remember hearing this song at my brother's band concert in 2019 and I actually wrote a short story inspired by the song

Fantastic piece Chris! Our band will be performing it next year.