Cumberland Cross

Cumberland Cross was written by Carl Strommen (see below) in 1995.

Cumberland Cross is a true concert band classic that explores the rich American folk style in two sections. The first has broad, moving harmonies under a melody reminiscent of Shenandoah, and the second a lively dance evoking the dance music of Aaron Copland.

The title is a reference to traveling through the Cumberland Gap, a pass in the eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At an elevation of 1,631 feet above sea level, it is famous in American colonial history for its role as a key passageway through the lower central Appalachians.

Long used by Native American nations, the Cumberland Gap was brought to the attention of settlers in 1750 by Thomas Walker, a Virginia physician and explorer. The path was used by a team of frontiersmen led by Daniel Boone, making it accessible to pioneers who used it to journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee. An important part of the Wilderness Road, it is now part of the

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.

Composer Carlos “Carl” Strommen (b. 1939) first studied English Literature at Long Island University in Brookville, New York, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts . Subsequently he studied music at the City College of New York (CUNY) in New York City, where he obtained his Master of Music . He completed his studies at the famed Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

Initially he was conductor of the wind orchestras at the Mamaroneck Public Schools in Mamaroneck, New York, in West Chester county across Long Island Sound. He then became professor for orchestration, composition and arrangement at the C.W. Post College from the Long Island University, his alma mater.

He is well regarded as a leading composer of instrumental and vocal music and especially his pedagogical works play a major role in the training of young musicians. From the “American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers” (ASCAP) he has been awarded several times for his compositions. He also works as a teacher at workshops and courses for conductors of wind orchestras and is a sought-after guest conductor. As a composer he mainly writes works for wind orchestras, orchestras, jazz bands and vocal music.

The music for Cumberland Cross was provided for the band by

Ross Fjermedal and Susan Evans.