Rings by Carl Schroeder

RINGS
FOR CONCERT BAND

Commissioned for the 2022 THREE RIVERS CONFERENCE HONOR BAND
Southeast Minnesota, Reid Wixson, conductor

ABOUT THE COMPOSITION

Rings, a concert band work commissioned for the 2022 Three Rivers Conference Honor Band in southeast Minnesota under the direction of Reid Wixson, was inspired by the Tokyo Olympic Games held in summer 2021 after a year’s postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the spirit of international unity and national pride for athletic achievements offered a respite during difficult times. As the year 2021 marked the 125th anniversary of the first modern Olympics held in Greece in 1896, the number 125 is embedded in much of the music, most notably in themes that begin with the 1st, 2nd and 5th pitches of the B-flat major scale. Composed in summer 2021 and revised in summer 2022, Rings has a duration of two and a half minutes.

The composer thanks the Medalist Concert Band under the direction of Jerry Luckhardt for an initial rehearsal reading and feedback session in fall 2021.

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 Rings during the summer of 2021 and completed a revised version in summer 2022.

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