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8:15 p.m.
July 29, 2002
Lila Cockrell Theatre


Robert W. Smith, Featured Composer
Major Dean Zarmbinski, Conductor


Heritage! American Composer Series Concert X
Program
Semper Liberi Robert W. Smith
National Anthem Francis Scott Key
"Those Magnificent Airmen and Their Flying Machines!" arr. MSgt L. Mac Taggart
Short Ride in a Fast Machine John Adams (arr. L. Odom)
    2Lt Matthew Seifert, Conductor
The Music of Robert W. Smith
    The Inferno
    The Ascension
    In A Gentle Rain
    The Great Locomotive Chase
    Inchon
    A Nation's Strength
    (World Premiere Performance)
Robert W. Smith
Guest Composer/Conductor
My Name is Old Glory (Tap Roots) Frank Skinner
    Mr. Bill Taylor, Guest Narrator
Stars and Stripes Forever John P. Sousa


Robert W. Smith


Robert W. Smith
Robert W. Smith
Robert W. Smith (b. 1958) is one of the most popular and prolific composers of concert band and orchestral literature in America today. He has over 600 publications in print with the majority composed and arranged through his long association with Warner Bros. Publications and the Belwin catalog.

Mr. Smith's credits include many compositions and productions in all areas of the music field. His original works for winds and percussion have been programmed by countless military, university, high school, and middle school bands throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South America and Asia. His Symphony #1 (The Divine Comedy), Symphony #2 (The Odyssey) and Africa: Ceremony, Song and Ritual have received worldwide critical acclaim. His educational compositions such as The Tempest, Encanto, and The Great Locomotive Chase have become standards for developing bands throughout the world. His numerous works for orchestras of all levels are currently some of the most popular repertoire available today.

His music has received extensive airplay on major network television as well as inclusion in multiple motion pictures. From professional ensembles such as the United States Navy Band and the Atlanta Symphony to school bands and orchestras throughout the world, his music speaks to audiences in any concert setting.

As a conductor and clinician, Mr. Smith has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe and Australia. He is the principal conductor of the American Symphonic Winds and the American Festival Philharmonic Orchestra, professional recording ensembles based in Washington D.C. He is currently working on the production of Symphony No. 3 (Don Quixote), the fourth in a series of compact disc recordings of his best-known works for concert band. In addition, he is co-creator of the Expressions Music Curriculum. This comprehensive Pre-K through 12 music program includes Band Expressions, an innovative new approach to teaching music through the band.

Mr. Smith is the Director of Product Development and is an exclusive composer for the C. L. Barnhouse Company and Walking Frog Records. In addition, he is currently teaching in the Music Industry program at Troy University in Troy, AL. His teaching responsibilities are focused in music composition, production, publishing and business.


Heritage! Featured Composers
1993 - Morton Gould 1994 - Dr. Ron Nelson
1995 - Robert Jager 1996 - Dr. Francis McBeth
1997 - Roger Nixon 1998 - David Holsinger
1999 - Alfred Reed 2000 - James Barnes
2001 - James Curnow 2002 - Robert W. Smith
2003 - Dr. Frank Ticheli 2004 - Norman Dello Joio
2005 - Peter Schickele 2006 - John Williams