Warren Barker

Biography

Warren E. Barker (16 April 1923, Oakland, Calif. – 3 August 2006, Greenville, S.C.) was an American composer, arranger and conductor.

Barker attended the University of California at Los Angeles and later studied composition with Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco and Henri Pensis. At the age of 24 he was appointed chief arranger for the National Broadcasting Company's prime musical program, The Railroad Hour, a position he held for six years.

Barker has been associated with 20th Century Fox, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Studios as a composer arranger-conductor for motion pictures and television. He has composed and conducted music for more that thirty television series including seven years as composer-conductor for the highly rated comedy series Bewitched. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honored him in 1970 for his original music written for the award winning series My World and Welcome to It, based on the life of James Thurber. He was a member of the arranging staff for the Oscar winning motion picture Hello Dolly. He also served as conductor-arranger and recording artist for Warner Bros. and Capitol Records. His compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by a variety of musical artists from Frank Sinatra to the Hollywood Bowl and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. He received writing commissions from many outstanding music organizations including The United States Air Force Band, The Royal Australian Navy, the Northshore Concert Band, and the Norwegian Army Staff Band. Barker was a member of the American Bandmasters Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, and Broadcast Music, Inc.

Works for Winds

Adaptable Music

Danny Boy (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Clark) (1991/2010)

All Wind Works

All Things Bright and Beautiful (1999)
Blue Moon (as arranger)
Brazilliance! (1981)
Bricusse and Newley on Broadway (as arranger)
Broadway Show-Stoppers Overture (as arranger) (1983)
But Not for Me (as arranger) (1930/1995/2006)
By the River's Bend (1993)
Capital Square March (1997)
Capriccio (Barker) (1988)
A Christmas Serenade (as arranger) (1995)
A Chorus Line" Spectacular! (as arranger)
Cole Porter on Broadway (as arranger)
Concertino for Clarinet and Band (2000)
Danny Boy (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Clark) (1991/2010)
Deir in De (1990)
Do You Hear What I Hear? (as arranger) (1962/)
Embraceable You (as arranger)
Fanfare Variations (1986)
Fantasia for Winds and Percussion (1992)
Foggy River Blues (1988)
From Sea to Shining Sea (as arranger) (2001)
A Galop to End All Galops (1977)
Gershwin! (as arranger) (1997)
Hollywood! (as arranger)
Hooray for Hollywood (as arranger) (2001)
How Long Has This Been Going On? (as arranger) (1927/2000)
I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day (as arranger) (1995)
In Praise of Freedom (1995)
In the Miller Mood (as arranger) (1997)
Inverrary (1983)
Ireland (as arranger) (1997)
An Irish Air for Winds
An Irish Interlude (1986)
An Irving Berlin Christmas (as arranger)
It's Christmas! (1989/2011)
Jerome Robbins Broadway (as arranger)
La Belle Americana (1986)
The Magic of Andrew Lloyd Webber (as arranger)
Magic of Disney (as arranger)
Mancini Spectacular (as arranger) (1980-1985)
Midnight in Bethlehem (1998)
New York: 1927 (2000)
Overture A La Russe (1989)
Patriotic Pageantry (as arranger) (1983)
Ramsgate March (1978)
'S Wonderful (as arranger) (1919/1996)
Salute to Bob Hope (as arranger) (1980)
Scherzo for Saxophone Quartet (1954/1982)
Selections from "Les Misérables" (as arranger) (1980/1987)
Silverado (as arranger) (1985/1987)
Sousa! (as arranger)
Strike Up the Band (as arranger) (1927/1981)
Swing's the Thing (as arranger) (1999)
That's Entertainment (as arranger)
Themes Like Old Times (as arranger) (1991)
Themes Like Old Times II (as arranger)
Themes Like Old Times III (as arranger)
Transformations (1985)
Victory Spirit March (2000)
Witch's Dance (2001)

Resources

Miles, Richard B. 2000. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 3. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 125.
Warren Barker. Wikipedia.