This is an arrangement written in 1999 by Andrew Glover (see below) of a march written in 1910 by Karl King (see also below).

From the arranger:

“Karl King composed 185 marches. ‘The Melody Shop’ was one of his earliest, published in 1910 when the composer was only 19 years of age. King had already composed several marches and other works by this time, many of which were published by C. L. Barnhouse. The baritone (euphonium) part in the final strain of this march has always been notorious for its difficulty. That part, in fact, was made considerably more difficult by the original, tiny quickstep-sized part (standard in 1910) and an unusually poor engraving job.

One popular legend explaining this dizzying baritone part involves a chance meeting in a Canton, Ohio barbershop between King and a stranger. The stranger was a baritone player, and he struck up a conversation with King (also a baritone player.) Not knowing the composer's identity, the stranger referred to Karl King as ‘the guy who writes those dinky marches’. That was all the urging King needed to make ‘The Melody Shop’ one of the most famous baritone parts in all of band repertoire.”

The Gateway Concert Band 718 Griffin Avenue, PMB 12

Enumclaw, WA 98022