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Since 1959..................P.O. Box
302, Concord MA 01742............Fall 1999
Saturday, October 30, 51 Walden St, Concord, 8:00pm.
The Concord Band, under the direction of Music Director, Dr.
William McManus, will kick off its 1999-2000 season with a
concert featuring a wide variety of musical styles ranging from
classics of the concert band literature to several of the newest
works for symphonic band. The Fall Concert will be held at the
Band's home at 51 Walden Street in Concord on October 30th
beginning at 8:00 PM.
The concert will begin with an exciting composition recently
arranged for band especially for the Concord Band by composer William Gordon. This challenging new
work, Fanfare and Chorale, "Laudes Domini", was
originally composed by Gordon for brass band. Having heard a
recording of the piece, Concord Band percussionist and Board
Member, Dan Diamond, was so impressed with the work that he
suggested that Gordon be commissioned to arrange the work for
symphonic band. The Board and Dr. McManus agreed. This premier
performance by a concert band of
Fanfare and Chorale, "Laudes Domini" is sure to be an exciting
opening to the Band's Fall concert.
Laudes Domini will be followed by Ronald Lo Presti's Elegy
for a Young American. Lo Presti, a native of Williams town,
Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and
has been the recipient of several Ford Foundation grants for
American composers. Lo Presti composed this work in 1964 in
memory of President John F. Kennedy. The Concord Band will be
performing this work in memory of a more recently fallen young
American, President Kennedy's son, John F. Kennedy, Jr.
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Christopher
Morehouse
Assistant Conductor
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The Concord Band will welcome its new Assistant Conductor,
Christopher Morehouse, to the podium to conduct the March of
the Belgian Parachutists and First Suite in E♭ by
Gustav Holst. Morehouse, Director of Bands at Belmont High
School, began his duties as guest conductor of the Concord Band
with two concerts at Fruitlands this past summer. He is a
graduate of Ithaca College in New York and the New England
Conservatory of Music. Morehouse has been Director of Bands at
Belmont High School for the past three years.
The March of the Belgian Parachutists is a gem of a
piece with a strong European flavor. Composed by Belgian composer
Pierre Leemans, the march was rearranged to fit American (and
Texas!) band instrumentation by Charles Wiley, director of the
Lamar University Band in Texas.
The Holst First Suite in E♭ is considered by many to
be the cornerstone of exceptional works for band by British
composers. Written in 1909 by one of England's most prominent
composers, it is one of the few works originally written for band
that have been transcribed for symphony orchestra. This work
marked a new epoch in band literature that has been rarely, if
ever, equaled by the many composers who were influenced by it.
The first half of the concert will close with Leroy Anderson's
arrangement of "The Girl I Left Behind Me" from the
Irish Suite, which Anderson composed for the Boston Pops
Orchestra in 1947. This suite was commissioned by the Erin
Society of Boston for its annual night at the Boston Pops.
Composer James Curnow has a long association with the Concord
Band, guest conducting the Band in 1987 in his first Concord Band
commission, Five Concord Diversions. Since then he has
composed two additional works for the Band: Welsh Variants,
and Overture to a Winter Festival, commissioned to honor
the retirement of the Band's Music Director Emeritus, Bill
Toland. This concert will feature one of Curnow's more recent
compositions, Prelude and Celebration, composed by Cur
now in 1996 to honor the 100th anniversary of the founding of
Eastern Illinois University. The opening section of this work
strives to capture musically the stark yet beautiful landscape of
the Central Plains of Illinois that have been the home of the
University since its founding. The work ends with a very spirited
and energetic Celebration.
The Concord Band is proud to feature one of its own,
saxophonist David Southard, in a performance of Wilford
Holcombe's Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Band. David,
a member of the Concord Band's saxophone section since 1988, has
appeared several times as a soloist with the Band. A computer
scientist, David also designed and maintains the Concord Band's
website (www.concordband.org). The Rhapsody was commissioned by
the U. S. Navy Band and premiered on August 7, 1997 with Tim
Roberts as soloist.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Duke Ellington's
birth, the Concord Band will be performing Floyd E. Werle's An
Ellington Portrait. This setting of Ellington originals
features such tunes as "It Don't Mean a Thing,"
"Sophisticated Lady," "Mood Indigo,"
"Azure," "I Let a Song Go Out Of My Heart,"
"Solitude," "Caravan," and "In A
Sentimental Mood."
The concert will close with Jay Chat taway's exciting concert
march Parade of the Tall Ships, written to commemorate
Operation Sail, 1976, which was the largest gathering ever of
tall sailing ships from all over the world. The event took place
in New York Harbor as part of America's bicentennial celebration.
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William
Gordon
Composer
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The Concord Band recently commissioned composer William Gordon
to arrange a concert band setting of
Fanfare and Chorale, "Laudes Domini", a work, based on a German
hymn, he had originally arranged for Brass Band. Gordon, former
conductor of the Pasadena Tabernacle Band of the Salvation Army,
has degrees in both composition and conducting from California
State University at Los Angeles where he had the privilege of
studying with Roy Harris. His many arrangements and compositions
for brass and concert band are performed throughout the world,
and have been frequently recorded. Gordon was recently honored by
having his Symphony for Brass chosen for the test piece of the
British National Championships prize band organization. He is a
resident of Lynden, Washington.
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The
Concord Band
at the Boston Festival of Bands
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Donna Kearney
Soprano
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With a performance in Faneuil Hall at the 1999 Boston Festival
of Bands, five concerts at Fruitlands Museums in Harvard (a sixth
was rained out), an Independence Day Concert in Concord, and
concerts in Belmont and Hudson, the Concord Band had a busy and
successful Summer concert season. Themes for the Summer series at
Fruitlands included "A Night in Bavaria," "A
Salute to American Jazz," "Remembering the
1920's," "Music for Independence Day" and a
special children's concert titled "Kids and Kats".
Vocalist Donna Kearney performed Thomas A. McGah's Sunsets with
the Band at Fruitlands. This work was commissioned in memory of
Carol Burdine. Concord Band flutist Marianne Leonard was featured
soloist at the Band's Boston Festival of Bands performance.
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In this column, the one that asks you to send the Band money,
we usually tell you
- why we need your help
- how we spend your money
- what a large contribution to community
life is made by the Concord Band.
This time we focus on volunteerism. More particularly, we look
at work done on a voluntary basis by individuals: work necessary
to run the Band, work for which professional (as opposed to
community) organizations have to pay top dollar. Their names are
listed here.
Judy Allen
Nancy Burdine
Elizabeth Clairmant
Sue Console
Gina DePaoli
Dan Diamond
Elizabeth Gardner
June Grace
Bea Haynes
Bill Haynes |
Harold Kasnitz
Reva Kasnitz
Barbara Lasker
Louis Lasker
June Mawn
Paul Mawn
Joanne Miller
Chris Mudgett
Nick Newman
Peter Norton |
Gene Parish
Harriet Parish
Genevieve Phelan
Bill Read
Libby Read
Marian Schmuhl
June Sketchley
Dave Southard
Peg Stewart
Iris Tremelling |
Jean Turkington
Connor Valiere
Fred Van Bennekom
Barbara Weiblen
Bill Weiblen
John Welch
Dick Wilson
Jane Wilson
Ari Winograd
Micah Winograd |
The tasks and activities performed by these individuals
include
- preparation of publications
- programs
- news letters
- posters
- database design
- mailings
- running the Band's Holiday Pops concerts
- organizing the entire event
- taking ticket reservations
- serving refreshments
- decorating the building
- organizing the raffle
- arranging the Band's annual social event
(usually a picnic)
- creating and maintaining the Band's web
site (www.concordband.org)
- arranging for the sale of the Band's CD
through local retailers (see article).
Please note that the Band Board members listed here are
undertaking activities beyond those of their assigned portfolios.
Not listed, for fear of leaving people out, are the many Band
members who help set the stage for rehearsals and concerts and
who help move heavy percussion and other equipment to and from 51
Walden for concerts at Fruitlands, Hudson, Belmont, and other
locations. Should you wish to become a Concord Band volunteer,
there is no shortage of ways in which you can help, please call
978-897-9969.
So as not to disappoint you, here's where we ask for money:
While the running of the Band is done almost entirely by
volunteers, the Band has substantial expenses for which
individual volunteer efforts cannot substitute. To help the Band
financially, please write a check for as much as you can afford
and send it to the address at the top of this newsletter.
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Be sure to make your reservations early for the Concord Band's
annual Holiday Pops concerts, to be held at 51 Walden on December
10th and 11th. There's no better way to celebrate the holi day
season than to enjoy an evening of great music and fun in the
festive 51 Walden holiday atmosphere! Concord Band Holiday Pops
is a tradition in Concord and sells out early. Plan a great
evening out with your friends and neigh bors and the Concord
Band. Table seating is available at $15 per person ($60 for a
table of four) and includes beverages and snacks. Reservations
can also be phoned in to 978-897-9969.
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Our
digitally-mastered
Holiday CD
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Just in time for holiday gift giving, the Concord Band CD, A
Winter Festival, will be available from the Band and at area
retail stores. Among the pieces on the CD are Curnow's Over ture
to a Winter Festival (in its premier performance), two Leroy
Anderson favorites, A Christmas Festival and Sleigh
Ride, three collections of Chanukah melodies, Victor
Herbert's March of the Toys, a Christmas sing-along, and
the powerful Russian Christmas Music by Alfred Reed.
A Winter Festival, priced at $15, will also be available for
purchase at the Band's Fall Concert on October 30 and at the
Holiday Pops Concerts on December 10th and 11th. Please call
978-897-9969 for information on retail locations.
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Concerts held at 51 Walden St, Concord, 8:00 pm.
FALL CONCERT Saturday, October 30
HOLIDAY POPS Friday and Saturday December 10 and 11
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