Gary McCurdy |
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When I was in college at the University of Iowa the
Iowa Band played a concert in Humboldt, Iowa, just north of Fort Dodge.
I believe it was in 1967. The highlight of the concert was
having Karl King conduct his march “The Melody Shop”.
I was impressed by Mr. King in many ways, but I was most impressed with
his unassuming humor.
Band director Fred Ebbs introduced Mr. King to the band by saying; "You should know that Mr. King wrote The Melody Shop when he was 17 years old and the difficulty of the euphonium part is an indication of what a great euphonium player he was."
Mr. King mounted the podium and said; Thank you, Mr. Ebbs for that introduction, but I want you to know that I was 19 when I wrote The Melody Shop and I was a lousy euphonium player.