David R. Gillingham (born October 20, 1947) is an American contemporary composer, who is known for his works for

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

ensemble.

Biography

He attended the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh for his undergraduate degree in Music Education, after which he went to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

where he served in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, playing in various army bands. After returning to America, he became a band teacher for a few years, before going to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

for his PhD in Music Composition/Music Theory, after which he pursued a career as a composer while also serving as a university professor. In 1990, his concert band piece ''Heroes Lost and Fallen'', a piece about the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...

, won the International Barlow Composition Contest. He retired as professor of music theory and composition at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

in 2016.

Selected works

Some of his recent works which have become very popular in the concert band and percussion repertoire include: *''Paschal Dances'' (1988) *''Heroes Lost and Fallen'' (1990) *''Serenade for Winds and Percussion'' (1990) *''Stained Glass'' (1992) *''Sacrificial Rite'' (1993) *''Apocalyptic Dreams'' (1995) *''Prophecy of the Earth'' (1995) *''Waking Angels'' (1996) *''Concertino for Four Percussion and Wind Ensemble'' (1997) *''A Light Unto the Darkness'' (1997) *''Quintessence I'' (1997) *''Galactic Empires'' (1998) *''Internal Combustion (1999) *''When Speaks the Signal-trumpet Tone'' (1999) *''Be Thou My Vision'' (1999) *''Concerto for Percussion Ensemble'' (1999) *''With Heart and Voice'' (2000) *''Cantus Laetus'' (2000) *''Council Oak'' (2001) *''Concerto for Piano and Percussion Ensemble'' (2002) *''The Echo Never Fades'' (2003) *''Concerto for Piano, Percussion and Wind Orchestra'' (2004) *''Supercell'' (2005) *''No Shadow of Turning'' (2005) *''Quintessence II'' (2006) *''Concerto for Marimba and Wind Ensemble'' (2006) *''Concerto for Viola, Cello and Orchestra'' (2007) *''Symphony No. 2 "Genesis"'' (2008) *''Angels of the Apocalypse'' (2010)

References

External links

David Gillingham official website
1947 births Living people 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers Concert band composers University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni Michigan State University alumni Central Michigan University alumni 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians {{US-composer-20thC-stub