Alfred Reed

At the time of his death, "Alfred still had writing projects that he wanted to do," according to his wife Margie. David McCormick has written, "Alfred's gift to the world is a body of music that will continue to thrill, charm and delight audiences in virtually every country of the world, as it has done for the last fifty years."

Alfred Reed was born on Manhattan Island in New York City on January 25, 1921. His formal music training began at the age of 10, when he studied the trumpet. As a teenager, he played with small hotel combos in the Catskill Mountains. His interests shifted from performing

This world known band composer and long time WASBE member was born in New York City on 25 January 1921. As the son of Austrian immigrants, he grew up in a home where music was a part of daily life and became acquainted with the standard orchestral and opera repertoire while still a young boy. His formal music training began at the age of 10, when he began studing the trumpet and was already playing in small hotel combos as a teenager. After studying theory and harmony privately with John Sacco, he worked as a staff composer and arranger for the Radio Workshop in New York.

With the onset of World War II, he enlisted and was assigned to the 529th Army Air Corps Band. During his three and a half years of service, he produced nearly 100 compositions and arrangements for the band.

After his discharge, Reed enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music and studied composition with Vittorio Giannini.

In 1948, he became staff composer and arranger for the National Broadcasting Company and later served as staff composer and arranger for the American Broadcasting Company.

In 1953, he enrolled at Baylor University, serving as conductor of the Symphony Orchestra while he earned the Bachelor of Music degree (1955). A year later, he received his Master of Music degree. His master's thesis, Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra, was awarded the Luria Prize in 1959. It received its first performance in 1959, and was subsequently published in 1966.

During his two years at Baylor, he also became interested in the problems of educational music at all levels, especially in the development of repertoire materials for school bands, orchestras, and choruses. This led, in 1955, to his accepting the post of editor in a major publishing firm in New York, Hansen Publishing from 1955 to 1966.

In 1966 Alfred Reed joined the Theory & Composition and Music Education faculties at the University of Miami School of Music where he succeeded Frederick Fennell as conductor of the Wind Ensemble. During his tenure at the University, he served a executive editor of the University of Miami Music Publications, and developed the first music merchandising degree program, which he administered until his retirement in 1993.

Alfred Reed has over 250 published works for Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Chorus, and various smaller chamber music groups, including five symphonies and such popular works as the Russian Christmas Music, the Armenian Dances, A Festival Prelude, and El Camino Real. Many of these works have been on the required performance lists in this country for the past 20 years, Dr. Reed is one of the nation's most prolific and frequently performed composers.

Following retirement, his work as a guest conductor and clinician has took him to 49 states, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia and South America; and, for many years, at least eight of his works have been on the required list of music for all concert bands in Japan, where he is the most frequently performed foreign composer today.

Among his many honors and awards was an honorary doctor of music degree from the International Conservatory of Music in Lima, Peru, election to the American Bandmasters Association in 1974, and the Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts Award in 1979.

At the age of 84, Alfred Reed passed away after a short illness on September 17, 2005