MLB 82
Festival Arrangement
Victory and Praise
Ruben Schmidt
PROGRAM NOTE
Written for the timbrel elective at Territorial Music School in 2013, Victory and Praise is an energetic and percussion-driven piece that features the familiar song Victory in Jesus (S.A.S.B. 464). The words of the chorus serve as the source of inspiration:
O Victory in Jesus, my Saviour, forever!
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born and raised in Solingen, Germany, Ruben Schmidt received his musical training through The Salvation Army where his father, Heinrich Schmidt, first taught him to play horn. Ruben studied music and history at the University of Cologne, where he also received his Masters in both music performance and history. Ruben teaches music and history at a high school in Solingen. Ruben is an active member in his corps band and the German Staff Band. He is bandmaster of the Divisional Band and co-directs and conducts music for band and choirs at the German music camp every summer. Ruben has composed a variety of pieces that have been published in several different journals. His music has been performed worldwide.
Presently, Ruben is on a short-term sabbatical from work and is enjoying life in Canada with his family.