FLORENCE, SC – Matthew L. Carl, Williams Middle School band director, will perform on the international stage in Chicago this month. The Palmetto Concert Band, of which Mr. Carl is principal clarinetist, will perform some familiar pieces as well as a newly commissioned work by James Stephenson titled “There are no Words.” The piece was composed in response to the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston last year. Members of the Palmetto Concert Band sent in an audition and as a result, received an invitation from the International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago to perform. The band will also perform for an international audience of over 15,000 musicians, composer, and music educators.
Carl has been with the Palmetto Concert Band since 2004. The Palmetto Concert Band is comprised of many other middle, high school, and college band directors who, like Carl, are graduates of the University of South Carolina School of Music. This is the Palmetto Concert Band’s third invitation to perform at Midwest, and it is Carl’s second performance on this international stage. The band will also perform at the South Carolina Conference of Music Educators in Columbia, SC, next year.
Carl has performed with the Mobile, Meridian, Long Bay, Lake Murray, Beaufort, and Florence symphonies. He also assists the Wilson High School Marching Tiger Pride Band who has placed in the top 10 at state marching competitions for two consecutive years.
