An Interview with Robert Sheldon
October 13, 2026|
Alfred Music Official
Robert Sheldon is one of the most widely performed composers in the concert band world, with a catalog that has become a fixture on programs everywhere. Based in Normal, Illinois, he spent twenty-eight years as a public school teacher and later served as a college band director — a teaching life he considers every bit as central to who he is as his composing. He studied with a remarkable lineage of mentors, including Alfred Reed, Clifton Williams, Frederick Fennell, Frank Wickes, and Richard Bowles, and has been publishing with Alfred Music since 1998, and serving as the concert band editor for 17 years!
Q: How did you first discover your passion for composing?
I’ve always enjoyed writing music, starting at age twelve.
Q: Who has shaped how you think about music?
Many wonderful teachers have helped me reimagine what music can be. The ones I studied most closely with are Alfred Reed, Clifton Williams, Frederick Fennell, Frank Wickes, and Richard Bowles.
Q: What was the first piece you wrote that made you think, “I might actually be onto something here”?
“Fall River Overture.”
Q: What’s the hardest creative problem you’ve had to solve, and how did you get through it?
Writer’s block can be a problem. I’ve overcome it by putting a problematic project aside and just writing for the fun of it. Within a brief period, I always seem to stumble onto something that provides a solution to whatever problem I’d encountered.
Q: How has your compositional voice changed over the years?
Other than becoming more descriptive of places and events, and better at scoring, notation, and orchestration, I’m surprised by how much hasn’t changed — I’ve maintained my love of melody and counterpoint throughout.
Q: Do you have a favorite piece on Alfred.com? What was the spark behind it?
My favorite piece always seems to be the one I’m currently writing — and most often it finds a home on Alfred.com. I’ve found that every day a part of my perspective evolves, which means every day I write brings new ideas and fresh energy to the process.
Q: If there were a soundtrack for your life right now, what piece would it be?
If you’re asking about a specific movie soundtrack, probably Forrest Gump!
Q: How do you spend most of your working hours?
When I’m home, I write. I’m away from home quite a bit, and when I’m traveling for work, I’m usually conducting or teaching.
Q: Where did you study, and how much of what you do today traces back to your formal training versus what you figured out on your own?
My undergraduate degree was in Music Education at the University of Miami. My master’s was in Conducting from the University of Florida, and my doctorate is an honorary degree in Music Education from VanderCook College. Clifton Williams pushed me in new directions during my time in Miami, but it was Richard Bowles at the University of Florida who helped me become the composer I am today.
Q: Did you grow up in a musical household?
Yes — my mother was a singer and taught dance, so there was always music in the house.
Q: How long have you been publishing with Alfred, and how did that relationship start?
My first piece with Alfred was released in 1998. I’d written a piece called “A Longford Legend,” but the publisher I’d been with for the previous fifteen years didn’t think anyone would ever play it. John O’Reilly approached me about submitting something to Alfred, so I sent him “Longford.” It was published, performed at the Midwest Clinic, and immediately became one of Alfred’s best-selling pieces for concert band.
Q: Outside of composing, is there another role in music that’s been just as central to who you are?
My career as a public school teacher for twenty-eight years, and then as a college band director, is every bit as much a part of my professional life as being a composer.
Q: How has the music education publishing world changed since you started, and how has that shaped what you write?
It seems that movie soundtracks and video games have influenced the performance preferences of school bands and orchestras, and that certainly has an effect on what publishers want to provide.
Q: What’s a type of piece or repertoire gap you think the industry still hasn’t figured out?
If I knew that, I’d be writing it right now instead of answering this questionnaire!
Q: What do you want your body of work to add up to?
I hope my music will reflect passion, expression, craftsmanship, originality, and a wide variety of styles and genres.
Q: Is there a favorite piece of yours that may not be your most popular work but resonates strongly with you?
During the COVID lockdown — though I didn’t realize it at the time — everything I was writing was quite dark, until I started “Sixty-Six,” a commission for the St. Louis Wind Symphony. Their request for a piece about Route 66, along with the many pictures they sent as inspiration, seemed to lift me out of the darkness. I had so much fun writing it that I was actually sad to see the final bar line. Since finishing that piece, I’ve rediscovered a real sense of joy in writing music, which makes “Sixty-Six” very significant to me.