Harold Van Heuvelen Harold Van Heuvelen ( born 1919 ) is an American composer and musician known principally for his Symphony No . 1 ( opus 7 ) , which was composed during World War II and which premiered 67 years later in 2012 . Personal life . Van Heuvelen was raised in Huron , South Dakota , the son of Carrie Catherine and Berend Van Heuvelen . Harold Van Heuvelen graduated from Huron High School . He spent a year at Huron College , before enrolling at Hope College in Holland , Michigan , graduating in 1940 with a degree in music . He also received a master ' s degree in violin performance from the University of Michigan . After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor , Van Heuvelen enlisted in the United States Army and served as a recruiter during World War II , eventually rising to the rank of colonel . He spent a further 33 years as an Army reservist . Around 1943 , he married Fran Van Heuvelen and later became a music teacher in the Bismarck , North Dakota public schools from 1946 to 1948 . In 2007 , after the deaths of their respective spouses , Harold married Alma Van Heuvelen ( née Viswat ) , whom he had met while they were both students at Hope College decades before . Music . As a teenager , Van Heuvelen was trained as a violinist on an Andrea Guarneri instrument from 1694 . The instrument , which he still owns , has variously been valued at and . His Symphony No . 1 evokes American sentiments during World War II in its four movements . The first movement is inspired by the worldwide events that led to the war — a period of " wandering and searching " . The second movement represents the military buildup in the United States prior to its declaration of war . The third movement recalls the conflict itself and the eventual " glorious victory " , while the fourth movement signifies the " glorious peace " thereafter , which Van Heuvelen imagined as " a nice wonderful time " in which America believed " war was over for always " . Composition of the symphony began in April 1945 , during a period of relative calm following the Allied victory in Europe . While soldiers at Van Heuvelen ' s New Orleans post waited to hear if they would be sent to Japan , they were instructed merely to " find something to keep [ themselves ] busy " while on duty . While many of Van Heuvelen ' s compatriots sketched house plans , the composer committed his symphony to a handwritten , bound volume . Soon after the war , Van Heuvelen showed the finished symphony to Leonard Bernstein , but nothing came of it . For decades , the symphony languished — it was too difficult for Van Heuvelen ' s high school orchestra to play — until Harold ' s son Bob Van Heuvelen had it transcribed into electronic form , and recorded on a compact disc . Bob Van Heuvelen was professionally acquainted with United States Senator Kent Conrad , and mentioned the symphony to him ; Conrad in turn contacted Senator Carl Levin , who as Chairman of the Armed Services Committee and a connoisseur of classical music , requested a copy of the recording . Levin arranged for it to be premiered at Brucker Hall at Fort Myer , Virginia on November 4 , 2012 , by the U . S . Army Band under the direction of Major Tod Addison . Although Addison had initially worried that the symphony would not be particularly good , he abandoned those reservations upon seeing the score , later describing the piece as " tonal " , " accessible " , " broad " and " neo - romantic " in the manner of Brahms . With Harold Van Heuvelen in attendance — in his newly tailored , World - War - II - era uniform — the symphony was premiered to a standing ovation . Other compositions by Harold Van Heuvelen include a violin concerto .