NOW THE TRUMPET SUMMONS
FOR CONCERT BAND

 Dedicated to the
MINNESOTA STATE BAND of St. Paul, Minnesota,
and the SOUTHWEST WIND ENSEMBLE of Minneapolis, Minnesota

ABOUT THE COMPOSITION

Now the Trumpet Summons is a work for concert band composed by Carl Schroeder in 2000 and revised in summer 2018, dedicated to the Minnesota State Band and the Southwest Wind Ensemble.

The title comes from President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address on January 20, 1961, in a passage that reads in full: “Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.”

Now the Trumpet Summons has an approximate duration of 4 minutes. The difficulty level is grade 3, appropriate for high school, college and community bands with strong trumpet sections.


 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 the original version of Now the Trumpet Summons in January 2000, and completed a revised version in summer 2018.

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MORE ON NOW THE TRUMPET SUMMONS

A NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER
I composed Now the Trumpet Summons in 2000 during my junior year at Southwest High School in Minneapolis. It was the third of four band pieces I wrote during high school, and it was inspired by a quote from President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address.

About a minute before the famous “Ask not what your country can do for you” line in that speech, there was a passage where Kennedy used the image of a trumpet summoning soldiers to war, and then took the image in a different direction: rather than being summoned to World War I and II like the previous generations, he talked about a trumpet summoning Americans to use our country's influence not just with our military, but by humanitarian means to fight what he called the “common enemies of mankind” of tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.

Kennedy's quote in full is: “Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, ‘rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation’—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.”

I latched onto that phrase “Now the trumpet summons” and thought it would be a great title for a piece of music, regardless of whether listeners know anything about the inspiration. Keith Liuzzi conducted the premiere in March 2000 by the Southwest Wind Ensemble during a band tour to Chicago, and in 2018 I revised it in a version that was re-premiered by the Minnesota State Band, again led by Keith Liuzzi.

– Carl Schroeder, November 2019

CONCERT PERFORMANCES
 March 21, 2000: Southwest High School Wind Ensemble, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - Chicago, IL premiere
May 19, 2000: Southwest High School Wind Ensemble, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - Minneapolis, MN
March 21, 2001: Southwest High School Wind Ensemble, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - Toronto, Canada
Feb. 20, 2001: Southwest High School Wind Ensemble, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - Minneapolis, MN
Nov. 13, 2003: Southwest High School Wind Ensemble, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - Minneapolis, MN
March 22, 2019: Minnesota State Band, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - Park Rapids, MN
March 23, 2019: Minnesota State Band, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - Wadena, MN
May 22, 2019: Edina Concert Band, Paul Kile, conductor - Edina, MN VIDEO LINK Watch this performance on YouTube
Aug. 21, 2019: Minnesota State Band, Keith Liuzzi, conductor - St. Paul, MN

DETAILS AND PURCHASING INFORMATION
Instrumentation: pic, 2 fl, ob, bsn, 3 cl, b cl, 2 a sax, t sax, b sax, 3 tpt, 2 hn, 3 tbn, euph, tuba, timp, 3 perc
 Difficulty Level: Grade 3 (Ideal for high school, college and community bands)

PURCHASE A SCORE OR SCORE/PARTS SET

Listen to Recording | Performed by the Edina Concert Band (Paul Kile, conductor)