Press Release

Concord Band to Perform Massachusetts Premiere of Twilight of the Gods

Dr. Andrew Boysen rehearses the Concord Band in his new piece Twilight of the Gods. Photo by Neil Tischler.

Concord, Mass, February 8, 2011 — The highlight of the Concord Band’s upcoming Winter Concert will be the Massachusetts premiere of Andrew Boysen's Twilight of the Gods, as the Band continues its nationally acclaimed tradition of commissioning new pieces for concert band. The theme of the concert is “New and Blue,” reflecting a mix of pieces selected by Music Director James O’Dell that are new for the Band, have a jazz/blues feel, or are related to the color blue. The concert will take place at 8:00 pm on March 5, 2011 at the Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden in Concord.

The program will also include Fruitlands Overture, conducted by newly appointed Assistant Conductor Steven Barbas. This piece was composed by Dr. William G. McManus, the Concord Band’s Music Director Emeritus, and first performed on June 30, 2010 at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Mass., the Band’s summer home. One of the themes of the piece has a blues feel, so the composition is both “new” and “blue.”

Continuing the theme, Roger Cichy’s Colours is an impressionistic work with each of the six movements representing a particular color. For example, the third movement of this 1997 composition is called “Blue Sapphire.” Also on the program will be Firework by Jan Van der Roost, Three Jazz Moods by John Lewis, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Sea Songs, and selections from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

Twilight of the Gods is an exciting and energetic piece depicting the story of Ragnarok and the end of the world as told in Norse mythology. The story encompasses a series of events, starting with a relentless winter leading to a series of civil wars across the earth, and concluding with a great battle between the gods and their adversaries, resulting in their deaths and the destruction of the earth. The earth then rises once more, new gods take control of the heavens, and the human race is born again through two survivors. (More detailed program notes on Twilight of the Gods are available here.)

Andrew Boysen, Jr. is presently a professor in the music department at the University of New Hampshire, where he conducts the wind symphony and teaches conducting, composition and orchestration. Twilight of the Gods was commissioned by a consortium of 26 university and community bands, including the Concord Band. Since 1967 the Band has either commissioned or has had written for it 65 new works for symphonic wind ensemble—possibly more than any other community band in the world.

The concert begins at 8:00 pm in The Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden Street in Concord on Saturday, March 5, 2011. Tickets are $15 each ($5 for students and seniors) and are available at the door.

The Concord Band, founded in 1959, is one of the leading community concert bands in the United States. It is well known for its innovative programming and the exceptional quality of its commissioned pieces. It presents both formal and Pops concerts throughout the year. Thousands attend its summer concerts each year at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts.

For additional information, contact Peter Norton, Concord Band Publicity. Visit our website at www.concordband.org.