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Alfred Reed

Alfred Reed

Overview
Alfred Reed was one of North America's most prolific and frequently performed composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

s, with more than two hundred published works for concert band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...

, wind ensemble, orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

, and chamber ensemble to his name. He also traveled extensively as a guest conductor, performing in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
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Unanswered Questions
Does anyone know of program notes for Alfred Reed's piece, Second Suite for Band?
Encyclopedia
Alfred Reed was one of North America's most prolific and frequently performed composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

s, with more than two hundred published works for concert band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...

, wind ensemble, orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

, and chamber ensemble to his name. He also traveled extensively as a guest conductor, performing in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

He was born in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and began his formal music training at the age of ten. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he served in the 529th Army Air Force Band. Following his military service, he attended the Juilliard School of Music, studying under Vittorio Giannini
Vittorio Giannini
Vittorio Giannini was a neoromantic American composer of operas, songs, symphonies, and band works.-Life and work:...

, after which he was staff composer and arranger first for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, then for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

. In 1953, he became the conductor of the Baylor Symphony Orchestra at Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...

, where he received his B.M. in 1955 and his M.M. in 1956. His master's thesis, Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra, was awarded the Luria Prize in 1959. He was a member of the Beta Tau Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...

, the national fraternity for men in music.

From 1955 to 1966, he was the executive editor of Hansen Publications, a music publisher. He was professor of music at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

 (where he worked with composer and arranger Robert Longfield
Robert Longfield
Robert "Bob" Longfield is an American composer, arranger, conductor and educator, best known for his compositions for Concert Band and String Orchestra....

) from 1966 to 1993 and was chairman of the department of Music Media and Industry and director of the Music Industry Program at the time of his retirement. He established the very first college-level music business curriculum at the University of Miami in 1966, which led other colleges and universities to follow suit. At the time of his death, he had composition commissions that would have taken him to the age of 115. Many of Reed's wind band compositions have been released as CD recordings by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
The is a professional concert band that has long been regarded as one of the world's finest, perhaps rivaled only in recent years by the Dallas Wind Symphony ....

.

Works for Orchestra

  • 1962 Greensleeves - "What Child is This?"
  • American Sketches - No. 1 "Strings 'n Things"
  • American Sketches - No. 2 "Fashion Show"
  • American Sketches - No. 3 "Country Night"
  • American Sketches - No. 4 "By the Lagoon"
  • American Sketches - No. 5 "The Mechanical Doll"
  • Serenade
  • Suite Concertante for strings and harp

Works for Concert Band

  • 1944 Russian Christmas Music
    Russian Christmas Music
    Russian Christmas Music is a musical piece for symphonic band, written by Alfred Reed in 1944. It is one of the most popular and frequently performed pieces of concert band literature....
    1. Carol of the Little Russian Children
    2. Antiphonal Chant
    3. Village Song
    4. Cathedral Chorus
  • 1955 Lumberjack Overture
  • 1956 Ballade for Solo Eb Alto Saxophone & Band
  • 1958 Might and Majesty, a Biblical Suite
  • 1959 Music Man
    1. The Wells Fargo Wagon
    2. Till There Was You
    3. Seventy-Six Trombones
  • 1962 A Festival Prelude
  • 1962 A Sacred Suite
  • 1962 rev. 1986 Greensleeves Fantasy for Concert Band
  • 1963 Festive Overture
  • 1966 Rahoon for Solo Clarinet and Band
  • 1967 The Music-Makers
  • 1967 Passacaglia
  • 1968 Intrada Drammatica
  • 1968 Wapawekka - White Sands
  • 1970 A Jubilant Overture
  • 1970 The Pledge of Allegiance for Concert Band
  • 1971 A Ceremonial Fanfare
  • 1972 A Northern Legend
  • 1972 Armenian Dances Part 1 inspired by a collection of Folk Songs collected by Komitas Vardapet
    Komitas Vardapet
    In 1950s his manuscripts were also transferred from Paris to Yerevan.Badarak was first printed in 1933 in Paris and first recorded onto a digital media in 1988 in Yerevan. In collecting and publishing so many folk songs, he saved the cultural heritage of Western Armenia that otherwise would have...

     (1869–1935)
    1. Tzirani Tzar - The Apricot Tree
    2. Gakavi Yerk - The Partridge's Song
    3. Hoy, Nazan Eem - Hoy, My Nazan
    4. Alagyaz
    5. Gna, Gna - Go, Go!
  • 1972 Imperatrix
  • 1972 In Memoriam, an Elegy for the Fallen
  • 1973 Punchinello, Overture
  • 1973 Alleluia! Laudamus Te'
  • 1976 First Suite for Band
    1. March
    2. Melody
    3. Rag
    4. Gallop
  • 1977 Armenian Dances Part 2
    1. Hov Arek
    2. Khoomar
    3. Lorva Horovel
  • 1977 Othello A Symphonic Portrait for Symphonic Band in Five Scenes (after William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

    )
    1. Prelude (Venice) - The tyrant custom hath made the flinty and steel couch of war my thrice-driven bed.
    2. Aubade (Cyprus) - Good Morning, General
    3. Othello and Desdemona - She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them.
    4. Entrance of the Court - Behold, the Lion of Venice!
    5. The Death of Desdemona; Epilogue - I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this….
  • 1978 Prelude and Capriccio
  • 1978 Second Suite for Band (Latino Mexicana)
    1. Son Montuno
    2. Tango ("Sargasso Serenade")
    3. Guaracha
    4. Paso Double ("A la Corrida!")
  • 1979 Second Symphony for Band
    1. Lento (ma ritmico)
    2. Allegro con fuoco
    3. Molto moderato e sostenuto
  • 1980 Hounds of Spring
  • 1981 Acalarado for Marching Band
  • 1981 The Hounds of Spring
    The Hounds of Spring
    The Hounds of Spring is a concert overture for winds, written by the American composer, Alfred Reed in 1980.Reed was inspired by the poem Atalanta in Calydon , by Victorian era English poet, Algernon Charles Swinburne, a recreation in modern English verse of an ancient Greek tragedy...

    , A Concert Overture
  • 1981 Rushmore
  • 1982 Queenston Overture
  • 1982 The Garden of Proserpine Symphonic Pastorale
  • 1982 Viva Musica
  • 1983 Three Revelations from the Lotus Sutra
    1. Awakening: To awaken in the Light of the Universe
    2. To contemplate the Depths of the Soul
    3. To rejoice in the Beauty of Peace
  • 1984 Pro Texana Concert-March
  • 1985 El Camino Real
  • 1985 Ramparts of Courage
  • 1986 Second Century
  • 1988 Praise Jerusalem!
  • 1988 Third Symphony for Band
    1. Pesante e molto sostenuto Allegro agitado
    2. Variations on the "Porazzi" Theme of Wagner
      Richard Wagner
      Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...

    3. Allegro deciso
  • 1990 Mr. Music
  • 1991 A Springtime Celebration
  • 1992 Fourth Symphony for Band
    1. Elegy
    2. Intermezzo
    3. Tarantella
  • 1992 Hymn Variants
  • 1992–1993 Fourth Suite for Band - City of Music
    1. Intrada
    2. Arie
    3. Marsch
  • 1993 Concertino for Marimba and Winds
  • 1993 Greensleeves
  • 1994 Fifth Symphony for Band
    1. Moderately and sustained
    2. Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)
    3. Allegro molto, con fuoco
  • 1995 Fifth Suite for Band (International Dances)
    1. Hoe Down (America)
    2. Sarabande (France)
    3. Yamabushi Kagura (Japan)
    4. Hora (Israel and Rumania)
  • 1995 The King of Love My Shepherd Is
  • 1997 Sixth Suite for Band
    1. March Miniature
    2. Summer Stroll
    3. Halloween Hobgoblin
    4. Awa Odori(Japanese Dance)
  • 1998 Prism
  • 1999 Millennium III Concert Overture
  • 2000 Children's Suite for Solo Alto-Saxophone and Band or Wind Ensemble
    1. Kiyoko's Lullaby
    2. Kiyoko's Playtime
  • 2000 Giligia (A Song of Remembrance)
  • 2002 Exhortation and Praise
  • 2004 Ebo Signation
  • A Christmas Celebration
    1. Angels We Have Heard On High
    2. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
    3. A O Comell Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
    4. Silent Night
  • A Christmas Intrada
  • A little Concert-Suite
    1. Intrada
    2. Siciliana
    3. Scherzo
    4. Gigue
  • Acclamation! A Global Greeting for Winds'
  • Canto E Camdombe
  • Choral Prelude In E Minor
  • Concertino for Marimbaphon and Winds
    1. Nocturne
    2. Scherzetto
    3. Toccata
  • Concerto for Trumpet and Winds
  • Curtain Up! (A Theater Overture for Winds)
  • Danza Caribe
  • Evolutions
  • East And West - The Kohoku New Town March
  • Golden Jubilee
  • Jidai - Year Of Years!
  • Millennium
  • Music in the Air!
  • O Little Town based on "O Little Town of Bethlehem" - for Choral Ensemble and Concert Band
  • O Most Wonderful for Choral Ensemble and Concert Band
  • Ode for Trumpet for Trumpet and Band
  • Poetry and Power
  • Rosalind in the Forest of Arden
  • Seascape for Euphonium solo and Band
  • Serenade
  • Serenade for Clarinet and Band
  • Seventh Suite for Band A Century of Flight
    1. prologue: Look to the Skies!
    2. Intermezzo: The Winds and Waves of Wajima
    3. March: To Fly With the Wings of Eagles
  • Siciliana Notturno for Alto-Saxophone and Concert Band
  • Silver Shadow (Concert March)
  • Slavonic Folk Suite for SATB Chorus (optional) and Band
    1. Children's Carol
    2. Cathedral Chorus
  • Symphonic Prelude
  • The Big East March
  • The Crowning Glory
  • The Enchanted Island
  • The Golden Years
  • Third Suite for Band (Scenes De Ballet)
    1. Fanfare and Intrada
    2. Pas de deux
    3. Polka excentrique
    4. Danse generale
  • Twelfth Night A Musical Masque after William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
    1. Prelude: Illyria
    2. Viola and Orsino
    3. The Merry Conspirators
    4. Malvolio's Lament in “Prison”
    5. V A Double Wedding, and All's Well!
  • Two Bagatelles
  • Victory! (Concert March for Winds)
  • With Trumpets and Drums for drums, trumpet, voice, and band

Works for Choir and Orchestra

  • All Hall to the Days, Christian Madrigal for harp, piano or guitar in score, strings, mixed choir
  • The Pledge of Allegiance for mixed choir and orchestra

Chamber Music

  • 1954 Organ Meditations for solo organ
  • 1983 Two Bagatelles for trombone quartet
  • Double Wind Quintet
  • Havana Moon for Clarinet Choir (3 bb, Alto, Bass, CBass), Percussion, Strings Bass
  • Pastorale for Clarinet and Piano
  • Scherzo Fantastique for Bass, Contrabass Clarinet, Contrabass, Piano, Woodwinds
  • Siciliana Notturno for Solo Alto-Saxophone, Piano, Saxophone, Voice, Woodwinds
  • Trilogue, Scherzo for Double Bass, Vibraphone, Marimba

External links