AGORA
A CONCERT BAND FANFARE

Commissioned by the MINNESOTA SYMPHONIC WINDS
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Timothy Mahr, conductor,
for the 25th anniversary season of 2002-2003

ABOUT THE COMPOSITION

Agora, composed in 2003 by Carl Schroeder, is a work for concert band commissioned by the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, a Twin Cities-based adult concert band under the direction of Dr. Timothy Mahr, in commemoration of the group's 25th anniversary season of 2002-2003. The title refers to the ancient Greek word for a gathering place.

Agora has an approximate performance time of 4 minutes. The difficulty level is grade 4, appropriate for college, professional, and advanced high school and community bands.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

Carl Schroeder of Minneapolis, Minnesota, composes music for concert band, orchestra, choir, chamber ensembles and solo piano that often draws inspiration from American history, current events, natural surroundings and memories. His large ensemble music has been performed by more than 40 concert bands, orchestras and choirs, including the Air Force Band of Mid-America, Minnesota Youth Symphonies and Chamber Choir Kyiv. He has written works on commissions from the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, Minnesota State Band, Cornell University Symphonic Band, Southwest Wind Ensemble, Calhoun-Isles Community Band, Wells Fargo Chorus and other ensembles and individuals. His music is featured on five CD recordings, his choral work Two December Carols is published by Boosey & Hawkes, and his concert band work Spin is published by C. Alan Publications.

Schroeder is a 2005 graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he studied composition primarily with Timothy Mahr and Peter Hamlin. In 2001, he was named "Composer with Most Potential" by the Minnesota Music Educators Association, and in 2004 he was one of three under-25 American composers chosen to participate in the National Band Association’s Young Composer Mentor Project, where he took lessons with composers Mark Camphouse, Donald Grantham and Dana Wilson. He composed Agora during the winter of 2003 and completed a revised version in July 2005.

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MORE ON AGORA

A NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER
In fall 2002, one of my composition professors at St. Olaf College, Timothy Mahr, commissioned me to write a fanfare celebrating the 25th anniversary season of the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, the Twin Cities-based adult concert band of which he has been principal conductor since 1999. This was an exciting project for me, since it was my first-ever commission.

Because Agora celebrated a 25th anniversary, lots of its musical ideas are built around the numbers 25, 2, 5, 2.5 and so on. There are several melodies of exactly 25 notes, a lot of 2- and 5-beat measures, and the whole piece is 125 measures long. The title comes from the Greek word for a community gathering place (appropriate for a community ensemble like the Minnesota Symphonic Winds), and an extra layer of meaning comes from how a 25th anniversary is the "silver anniversary," and the atomic symbol for silver is "Ag," the first two letters of Agora.

The Minnesota Symphonic Winds and Dr. Mahr premiered Agora on May 3, 2003, at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Some other memorable performances include one in 2004 with Andre Feagin conducting the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America as part of the National Band Association's Young Composer Mentor Project, one in 2016 with my fellow St. Olaf alumnus Reid Wixson conducting my former high school band, the Southwest Wind Ensemble, and most recently in 2018 by the Minnesota Symphonic Winds, which is now celebrating its 40th anniversary—how time flies!

– Carl Schroeder, April 2019

AWARDS & HONORS
Selection, 2004 National Band Association Young Composer Mentor Project
Second Place, 2004 Claude T. Smith Composition Contest
Selection, 2006 California State University (Bakersfield) Concert Band Guest Composer Concert
Finalist, 2006 Penfield (NY) Music Commission Project Composition Contest

CD RECORDINGS
The Minnesota Portraits and Other Music by Carl Schroeder - Minnesota Symphonic Winds; Timothy Mahr, conductor
Music from the Hill 2005 - Minnesota Symphonic Winds; Timothy Mahr, conductor

CONCERT PERFORMANCES
May 3, 2003: Minnesota Symphonic Winds; Timothy Mahr, conductor - Minneapolis, MN premiere AUDIO LINK Listen on YouTube
June 8, 2003: Minnesota Symphonic Winds; Timothy Mahr, conductor - Plymouth, MN
Nov. 8, 2003: St. Olaf Band; Timothy Mahr, conductor - Northfield, MN
June 21, 2004: U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America; Andre Feagin, guest conductor - Normal, IL
Mar. 6, 2006: California State University Bakersfield Concert Band; Patricia Childress, conductor - Bakersfield, CA
Mar. 25, 2006: Randolph County Senior High All-County Band; Andre Feagin, conductor - Asheboro, NC
Nov. 29, 2006: Appalachian State University Concert Band; John Stanley Ross, conductor - Boone, NC
Oct. 17, 2016: Southwest Wind Ensemble; Reid Wixson, conductor - Minneapolis, MN
June 13, 2018: Minnesota Symphonic Winds; Timothy Mahr, conductor - Edina, MN

NEWS ARTICLES
Aug. 28, 2004: "Mentoring the Leaders of Tomorrow" (Elizabeth Dallman, BandDirector.com)