Episode 59

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Published on:

18th Mar 2025

2.9 - Charles Booker Jr.

Charles Booker (b. 1952), a native of Natchez, Mississippi, is a former U.S. Army Bandmaster, and Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. He served the university as Director of Jazz Studies, Director of Bands, and Chair of the Music Department. During his tenure at UA Fort Smith he taught trumpet, band, jazz band, conducting, music theory, orchestration and composition. Mr. Booker was a student of Al Sturchio and Dan Schreiber and studied trumpet with Gary Rosenblatt and Jan Roller. He studied composition with Hank Levy (composer/arranger for Stan Kenton), Dr. Steve Strunk and Dr. James Balentine, and conducting with Dr. Robert Garofalo and Dr. Robert Rustowicz. Mr. Booker received his degrees from the University of the State of New York and the University of Texas at San Antonio. He later completed courses for Texas teacher certification in secondary music at Texas State University and holds a Texas Teaching Certificate.

Mr. Booker has over 100 compositions published by Alfred, Kendor, Southern Music Company, Wingert-Jones, Potenza Music, Print Music Source, and Lecta Music. Mr. Booker’s music has been performed internationally by schools, universities, community bands and professional bands and orchestras that include the Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra, The U.S. Army Band and Orchestra ("Pershing’s Own"), the U.S. Army Field Band, the U.S. Military Academy Band (West Point), the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America and the U.S. Air Force Academy Band. Mr. Booker’s 21 year career in the U.S. Army included service in the Fifth Army Band in San Antonio, Texas, staff arranger for the Army Field Band, conductor of Army Bands in Louisiana, Germany, New York City, and director of the Jazz Ambassadors in Washington, D.C. As a trumpeter with the Fifth Army Band, Mr. Booker performed for the funerals of Presidents Truman and Johnson. In 1981, as the conductor of the 3rd Armored Division Band in Germany, Mr. Booker conducted ceremonies at Rhein Main Air Force Base for the returning American hostages from Iran. In New York City, he conducted the Army Band of New York City at ceremonies for head of states of the United States, Germany, France, Netherlands, Portugal and China, and his band performed at the centennial activities of the Statue of Liberty. While an associate conductor of the Army Field Band and director of the Jazz Ambassadors, Mr. Booker performed at the Kennedy Center, in 48 states, India, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and marched in the inauguration parades of Presidents George H. W. Bush and William J. Clinton.

He was Interim Director of Bands at Trinity University from 1996 to 1997 and assistant editor at Southern Music Company from 1994 to 1997. Charles Booker has been recognized by the Mayor of Fort Smith (the 2006 "Mayor’s Honors to the Visual and performing Arts"), the North Side Independent School District of San Antonio, Texas (the 2008 "Pillars of Character Award") and received the Arkansas Arts Council Award in music composition for 2009. He is past president of the Arkansas Chapter of the College Band Directors National Association, past president of the Arkansas Chapter of the International Association of Jazz Educators, current member of the Texas Bandmaster Association, the Association of Concert Bands and is a past president (2010) of the Arkansas Bandmaster Association. Mr. Booker is also a retired member of the Texas Chapter of Phi Beta Mu.

In 2007, the New Mexico State University Symphonic Winds released their CD entitled "Centra-fuge: The Music of Charles L. Booker, Jr.”, and in 2008, Mr. Booker released his second CD "American Jubilee”. Booker’s CD "Time Remembered” was released in 2009, and his CD "Radiant Blues” was released in 2011. In 2013 Mr. Booker and fellow composer Roger Cichy released a compilation of their latest original music on their CD “Glorious Journey”.

Mr. Booker is married to his wife of 49 years, trumpeter and quilter, Claudette [DeRocher] Booker of San Antonio, Texas. They have three children: Major Erik Booker, U. S. Army (Retired) and Maryland public school teacher; Dr. Adam Booker, Assistant Professor of Double Bass at Appalachian State University, and Dr. Colleen Booker Halverson of Richland Center, Wisconsin, author, English professor and mentor at Western Governors University. Mr. Booker and Claudette have nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

http://charlesbooker.com/

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About the Podcast

Composer Chats
Composer Chat is a podcast where we talk a little bit about music, a little bit about life, and a whole lot about whatever we feel like at the moment! Each episode I am joined by a special guest composer and we will chat about their pathway towards success in their musical career!

About your host

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Jason Nitsch

Jason Nitsch’s music is equally at home on the concert stage, in outdoor venues, and streaming online, reaching the broadest audience of musicians, performers, and music enthusiasts possible. As a composer dedicated to the exploration of new ideas, his music has evolved over a 25-year career to incorporate more and more non-traditional elements, such as effect tracks, sound drops, and enveloping electroacoustic works combining live and pre-recorded elements. Much of his work is rooted in a large ensemble context; his wind ensemble works have received thousands of performances throughout the US including at Midwest, State Music Conferences including Texas, Colorado, and Kentucky Music Educators Associations, Colleges and Universities like Baylor University, the University of North Texas, and Syracuse University, and at other regional music festivals (ITEA).

In recent years Jason has focused on more intimate chamber musical settings, including collaborations with solo musicians such as trumpeter Kate Amrine , Cellist Carolyn Regula (The Cello Doll) and vocalist Michaela Catapano, as well as chamber groups across the US (Chicago Brass Choir), while continuing expand his sizable catalog of works for larger instrumental forces.

Jason is well known for his work as an educator, dedicated to providing young promising musicians with the foundational experiences on which a lifetime of music-making can be built, and is pursuing research into the ways that music students process their experiences as learners and performers.

Combining his long career in music with a deep love of science fiction and a natural talent for storytelling, Jason recently launched his first podcast, “Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim.” “Beyond the Belt” is a collection of 8 original dramatic science fiction episodes for which he served as writer, producer, and composer. It tells the story of a scientific research experiment gone horribly wrong. With Zombies (of course!).

Jason has released three digital albums in recent years, including the Season One Soundtrack from the Beyond the Belt podcast, “1000 Steps to Nowhere", a collection of chamber music compositions, and most recently “The Dead Teach the Living,” featuring nine vocal collaborations ranging from solo works to Orchestral compositions.

Jason is a lover of dogs, video games, and all things Star Wars (yes, even the prequels). He is also a husband, father of two budding musicians, and a patron of art forms that stretch traditional boundaries.

He currently lives in Waxhachie, TX with his family. He can occasionally be sighted lurking at select music conferences.