Nova Mater is based on the melody from the 1857 song Annie Lisle by H.S. Thompson. This melody is the basis of hundreds of school songs from universities and high schools across

the nation. Nova Mater begins with an introduction that evokes school marching bands, making use of a drumline warm-up pattern and a solo trumpet call. Faster music follows in

which each phrase of the Annie Lisle theme is developed. The work ends with a grand canon featuring all of the phrases of the theme played at once.