ABOUT THE COMPOSITION

April Sky, composed in 2014 by Carl Schroeder, is a work for symphony orchestra dedicated to the Northern Symphony Orchestra of Anoka, Minnesota, an ensemble conducted by Michael Halstenson. It was adapted from a string orchestra work of the same title composed in 2009 for the Champlin Park High School Concert Orchestra of Champlin, Minnesota, conducted by Judy Blomgren.

April Sky has an approximate performance time of five minutes. The difficulty level is grade 3, appropriate for high school, college and community orchestras.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

Carl Schroeder (b. 1982) 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 nearly 50 concert bands, orchestras and choirs, including the Air Force Band of Mid-America, Minnesota Youth Symphonies and Ukraine’s Chamber Choir Kyiv. He has written commissioned works for the City of Lakes Community Band, Cornell University Symphonic Band, Minnesota State Band, Minnesota Symphonic Winds, Southwest Wind Ensemble, Three Rivers Conference Honor Band, Valley Winds, Wells Fargo Chorus and other ensembles and individuals. His published compositions include the concert band work Spin, the choral work Two December Carols and the piano solo 88 Keys, and six CDs of his music have been released. He is also the author of two books in the Fenn and Zorro series of novels told through correspondence. A 2005 graduate of St. Olaf College, he studied composition primarily with Timothy Mahr and Peter Hamlin. He composed April Sky for string orchestra in 2009 and completed a full-orchestra adaptation in December 2014.

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MORE ON APRIL SKY

A NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER
April Sky had its origins in 2009, in a string orchestra version premiered by the Champlin Park High School Concert Orchestra. Their conductor, Judy Blomgren, invited me to compose a piece for their performance at Carnegie Hall, and I jumped at the opportunity, as any composer would! I then tagged along with them to New York, and my family and some good friends also attended the premiere on April 10, 2009.

Five years after that premiere, the piece got a new life when I learned of an opportunity the Northern Symphony Orchestra and their conductor Michael Halstenson were offering for reading sessions of short new orchestral works. So I adapted April Sky for full orchestra and submitted it, and it was one of four pieces selected for the reading session in January 2015, along with music by Ian Cook, Jeff Liebsch and Richard Raaen. The Northern Symphony Orchestra then performed an excellent premiere in June 2015.

Although it doesn’t tell a specific story, April Sky of course refers to the month when the string orchestra version premiered, plus what I felt was a kind of upward, “skyward” motion of some of the music. April is also my favorite month—with the first full month of spring, the start of the baseball season and my birthday.

– Carl Schroeder, April 2019

CONCERT PERFORMANCES
April 5, 2009: Champlin Park High School Concert Orchestra; Judy Blomgren, conductor - Champlin, MN premiere (string orchestra version
April 10, 2009: Champlin Park High School Concert Orchestra; Judy Blomgren, conductor - New York, NY (string orchestra version)
June 20, 2015: Northern Symphony Orchestra; Michael Halstenson, conductor - Anoka, MN premiere (full orchestra version)
May 30, 2018: Southwest String Orchestra; Reid Widson, conductor - Minneapolis, MN (string orchestra version)

NEWS ARTICLES
June 13, 2015: "Orchestra performs from ‘Italy to Finland’" (Sue Austreng, ABC Newspapers)