Karl L. King

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Karl L. King

Karl Lawrence King (born February 21, 1891 in Paintersville , Ohio , † March 31, 1971 in Fort Dodge , Iowa ) was an American composer , bandmaster and baritone player . He is particularly known for his "circus marches".

Life

Karl L. King was born in Paintersville, Ohio to an amateur musician. By the age of ten, the family moved several times, first to Cleveland , then to Canton . It was there that King took an interest in music at the age of eleven and first learned the cornet , and a little later the baritone horn. He took lessons from the conductor of the Thayer Military Band , which was part of the local National Guard battalion ; soon he was involved in this orchestra. At the age of 13 he created his first compositions, which, however, have not been preserved; the first published works, the march TMB and the waltz Moonlight on the Nile , he wrote in 1909.

In 1910, King moved to Columbus ; in the following years he played in the bands of various circus companies. In 1911 he was with the Yankee Robinson Circus , where he gained his first conducting experience. In 1912 he went on tour with the Sells-Floto Circus ; the conductor was the well-known composer Walter P. English . At this time he also composed for a while under the pseudonym Carl Lawrence . In 1913 King was engaged in the Barnum and Bailey Circus , for which he wrote his most famous work, the March Barnum and Bailey's Favorite . He spent the next three years at the Sells-Floto Circus again , this time as Kapellmeister. In 1916 King married his wife Ruth, a music dealer and pianist. Actually he wanted to settle down, but got the offer to work for two years in the Barnum and Bailey Circus as Kapellmeister. King accepted and went on tour again, his wife played the steam organ in the orchestra .

After the end of the circus tour in 1918, King hoped to get a position as assistant to John Philip Sousa , who at that time was once again serving as a military bandmaster in the Navy, and wrote to him. Although there was no vacancy on Sousa's staff, he helped him to become a military bandmaster in the United States Army , where King was employed until the end of the First World War ; however, he was not on active duty.

After the war, King founded his own music publisher in Canton, the KL King Music House ; He also worked as the conductor of the local wind orchestra , which was financed by the Grand Army of the Republic . As the income from these two activities was insufficient, King moved to Fort Dodge in 1920, where he became the conductor of the local brass band. His music publisher also moved there and became a successful company. In 1921, at his instigation, a law that is still valid today was passed in Iowa that allowed communities with a population of less than 40,000 to collect a tax that could be used to finance public orchestras. Out of joy, King composed the March Iowa Band Law . This march was performed in 1960 by the largest wind orchestra ever assembled; King conducted almost 13,000 musicians from 188 school orchestras in front of 80,000 listeners.

When the American Bandmasters Association was founded in 1929 , King was one of its first members. From 1936 to 1941 he was on the board of the association, and in 1938 also president. In addition, he was a sought-after guest conductor and was involved in school music. King died at Fort Dodge at the age of 80 and is buried in Northlawn Cemetery there.

plant

The Melody Shop , United States Army Field Band

Karl L. King created more than 290 compositions, including 180 marches. Along with Henry Fillmore and John Philip Sousa, he is considered one of the most important American march composers. His works, which he created up into the 1940s, are still performed frequently today; after that he mainly wrote simpler pieces for school orchestras. Many of King's compositions are influenced by his time as a circus musician and are accordingly still performed by circus bands. King published his works mainly with CL Barnhouse and in his own music publisher KL King Music House .

Works (selection)

  • 1909 Moonlight on the Nile , waltz
  • 1909 TMB , March
  • 1910 Emblem of Freedom , March
  • 1910 The Melody Shop , March
  • 1911 Robinson's Grand Entree , March
  • 1912 The Centaur , March
  • 1913 Barnum and Bailey's Favorite , March
  • 1913 Emporia , gallop
  • 1913 Ragged Rozey , character piece
  • 1914 Pride of Arizona , March
  • 1914 Sells-Floto Triumphal , March
  • 1917 Spanish Romance , Intermezzo
  • 1919 Enchanted Nights , waltz
  • 1919 Walking Frog , Two Step
  • 1920 Hosts of Freedom , March
  • 1921 Attorney General , March
  • 1921 Iowa Band Law , March
  • 1925 Step On It! , March
  • 1931 Prestissimo , gallop
  • 1933 Purple Pageant , March
  • 1934 The Big Cage , gallop
  • 1941 Melody a la King
  • 1942 Coast Guards , march
  • 1942 Sky Ranger , march
  • 1942 United Nations , March
  • 1943 Alamo , March
  • 1944 Circus Days , gallop
  • 1945 The Trombone King , March

Appreciation

The Oleson Park Music Pavilion , since 1976 also the Karl King Bandshell

In 1949, the Concert Band Conductors Association accepted Phi Beta Mu King into its ranks. In 1953 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Phillips University in Enid , Oklahoma . In 1967, King was named honorary president for life of the American Bandmasters Association , having received the same association's Distinguished Service Award in 1959 . In Fort Dodge, where King worked for 50 years and was also involved in community life, a bridge, a park, the bandstand and the orchestra, which he directed for a long time, were named after him. Henry Fillmore dedicated the March to King Karl King to King . In addition, the Iowa Bandmasters Association has presented the Karl King Distinguished Service Award to merited wind orchestra conductors since 1988 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Karl L. King  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Osborne: Music in Ohio . The Kent State University Press, Kent 2004, ISBN 0-87338-775-9 , pp. 457-459 .
  2. ↑ a b Iowa Volume Law March. Iowa Bandmasters Association Web site, accessed January 26, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b Loren N. Horton: King, Karl Lawrence. In: The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa website, accessed January 26, 2018 .
  4. ^ ABA Honorary Life Presidents. (PDF; 8.63 MB) American Bandmasters Association website, accessed January 26, 2018 .
  5. ^ Oleson Park Music Pavilion. National Park Service website, accessed January 26, 2018 .
  6. ^ Karl King Distinguished Service Award Recipients. Iowa Bandmasters Association Web site, accessed January 26, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME King, Karl L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES King, Karl Lawrence (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer, bandmaster and musician
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Paintersville , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1971
Place of death Fort Dodge , Iowa