The Lake Oswego Millennium Concert Band has been rehearsing since early October and is excited to perform for you at our first concert of the 2017-18 concert season. The concert will be called The Magic of Music and will be performed on Sunday evening December 3rd in the auditorium at Lakeridge High School beginning at 7:30 pm. As always, there is no admission charge. As we start our 19th season of bringing you outstanding band music, I offer a short description of four of our major pieces for the evening so you will realize the obviously different styles of music you will hear at this concert. The other titles are also listed so you will know what to expect.
Rick Kirby is one of the talented composers who currently writes wonderful music for the concert band. Your imagination will assuredly produce the magic as we open our new season with this delightful piece written in 2017 by Mr. Kirby, Echoes In the Woods.
Richard Wagner was without a doubt one of the most outstanding composers of opera the world has ever known. This selection from his opera Lohengrin composed in 1848, is Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral and depicts all the medieval color, magic and pageantry of the times as Elsa enters the Cathedral for her betrothal to Lohengrin, mystic knight of The Holy Grail.
Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer/arranger of music of many kinds, ranging from orchestral music to dance band and Broadway musicals. In 1948, he went to a concert of the Goldman Band and he said ”I suddenly realized all the beautiful sounds the American concert band could make that it hadn’t yet made and my pen was practically jumping out of my pocket begging me to give this great big instrument more music to play”. This inspiration resulted in a piece of music Bennett originally called Electric Park, which was the name of a theme park in Kansas City, that he described as “a place of magic to us kids”. The five movements of the suite are Cake Walk, Schottische, Western One-Step, Wallflower Waltz and Rag. They are all happy, superbly written and are among the all-time favorites of band members and their audiences. Please enjoy The Suite of Old American Dances.
Brian Balmages is a current composer who has written music for many genres of performing groups. His concert band compositions have received many accolades and our band has loved playing his music on several occasions. At our concert, we will perform a new piece of his written in 2017 that is inspired by the fire, passion and drive of Latin music. Fiesta De Los Toros explores many different styles originating everywhere from Spain to Cuba and, while not specifically programmatic, the title evokes images of the festivals, dances and pure adrenaline associated with a culture known for its passion and intensity.
In addition to the above four pieces, we will perform Sound Off March by John Philip Sousa, Companion of My Voice by Randall Standridge, A Festive Christmas arranged by Kenny Bierschenk, Good King Wenceslas arranged by Tom Wallace and It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year arranged by Chris Sharp.
The doors open at 6:30 pm to allow you to browse the artwork of our local artists and to listen to music performed by the Rosemont Trombone Quartet. Please join us as we present a wonderful evening of art and music for your enjoyment.
Dale Cleland, Musical Director
Lake Oswego Millennium Concert Band