Archibald Clyde Roller (October 13, 1914 – October 16, 2005) was an American music professor, conductor, and oboist. Roller, a native of

Rogersville, Missouri Rogersville is a city in Greene County, Missouri, Greene and Webster County, Missouri, Webster counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population is 3,897 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Missour ...

, received his musical education at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

, graduating in 1941. Roller was the principal oboist with several orchestras: the Oklahoma City Symphony from 1937 to 1939, the Birmingham (Alabama) Symphony from 1940 to 1942, and the

Tulsa Philharmonic The Tulsa Philharmonic was an American symphony orchestra located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The orchestra was founded in 1948 by H. Arthur Brown who was principal conductor from 1948 till 1958. The original Tulsa Philharmonic grew out of a small group ...

. He conducted Dallas's

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

Orchestra from 1947 to 1948, and from 1948 to 1962 was music director of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. He also guest conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra: Roller and

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one ...

swapped conducting roles on occasion as well, with Fiedler leading the Amarillo Symphony and Roller conducting the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

. Returning to Eastman in 1963, he was ensembles professor at Eastman. For

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

in 1963, he conducted the

Eastman Wind Ensemble The Eastman Wind Ensemble was founded by conductor Frederick Fennell at the Eastman School of Music in 1952. The ensemble is often credited with helping redefine the performance of wind band music. At the time, concert bands used all of their pla ...

Vittorio Giannini Vittorio Giannini (October 19, 1903 – November 28, 1966) was an American neoromantic composer of operas, songs, symphonies, and band works. Life and work Giannini was born in Philadelphia on October 19, 1903. He began as a violinist under the t ...

's Symphony No. 3 and

Alan Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness (; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American- Armenian composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) a ...

's Symphony No. 4. Roller served in similar positions at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

(from which he retired in 1979),

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was a conductor and faculty member, teaching

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, at the Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1951 to 2004. He was the resident conductor of the

Houston Symphony Orchestra The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, and the musical director and conductor of the

Lansing Symphony Orchestra The Lansing Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is an American symphony orchestra headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1929 under the leadership of its first Music Director, Izler Solomon. Since 2006, the orchestra has been headed by Music ...

(Michigan) 1967–1978. Roller was a favorite of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, having appeared there six times to take the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Symph ...

on tour, recording with them for television and radio, and also performing with the Royal Christchurch Society in an All-Beethoven concert.''Notes: A Magazine for Alumni of the Eastman School of Music''; Rochester, New York; Volume 24, Number 1; January 2006
"In Tribute: A. Clyde Roller"
Retrieved September 22, 2015. Roller was in demand as a conductor of educational honor groups, making appearances throughout the U.S. as conductor of over 45 all-state orchestras, MENC, region orchestras, and string festivals, as well as the Congress of Strings on both the East and West Coasts. Roller was married twice. His second wife was concert pianist Moreland Kortkamp. Roller died in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. He was survived by his younger brothers Roger Roller, an oboist and music teacher in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, and Dale Roller, a music teacher in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

Awards

Amarillo Globe-News The ''Amarillo Globe-News'' is a daily newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by Gannett. The newspaper is based at downtown's FirstBank Southwest Tower, but is printed at a facility in Lubbock. History The current-day ''Globe-News'' is a combinat ...

Man of the Year, 1961 *

Sigma Alpha Iota Sigma Alpha Iota () is a women's music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its m ...

’s National Artist Affiliate Award, 1979 *Texas Orchestra Director of the Year, 1979 *Edwin Franko Goldman Memorial Citation, 1998 *Outstanding Educator of America Award

Awards

References

Further reading