Pomp and Circumstance is the first of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance marches, composed in 1901 and long associated in the United States with commencement ceremonies. The familiar trio melody, later set to the words of Land of Hope and Glory in Britain, became the standard processional for graduates entering and leaving a ceremony. Short, instantly recognisable excerpts are now widely reused online in graduation videos, memes and parodies, where the formal, ceremonial sound adds instant weight to both sincere celebrations and comic send-ups of academic achievement.
About this sound
The opening bars of Pomp and Circumstance, the classic commencement march, played as a short muzak-style clip for graduation scenes and celebration edits.
This short clip plays the instantly recognisable opening of Pomp and Circumstance, the stately brass and orchestral march most people associate with walking across a stage in a cap and gown. In this muzak-style version the melody is light and slightly tinny, like graduation music drifting from a speaker in a school hall, which makes it feel both proud and a little tongue-in-cheek. Drop it over a graduation photo slideshow, a mock ceremony or a moment when someone finally finishes something, and it instantly signals achievement, formality and a happy ending, even when the scene itself is deliberately over-the-top.
