Valley Concert Winds
/So far, my big musical project this summer has been starting a community band. It's called the Valley Concert Winds, and we are almost to our first performance. I am co-directing the group with fellow teacher Kyle Manley. It is pretty nice to have the chance both to play and conduct!
We weren't sure what sort of response we would get to the group. There are quite a few community bands in Minnesota, but the far east metro seemed like it could use a group. We had over 50 people register for the band with a great balance of instruments! I was also really pleased to have a wide range of ages represented in the group. It is neat to have intergenerational interaction. After four rehearsals, we have read a lot of music and are planning our first program, "A Taste of America," with the following works:
- America the Beautiful – arr. Carmen Dragon
- American Riversongs – Pierre La Plante
- Fantasy on Yankee Doodle – Mark Williams
- Black Granite III – James L. Hosay
- On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss – David Holsinger
- Sweet Like That – Christopher Theofanidis
- The Gladiator – John Philip Sousa
- The Incredibles – arr. Jay Bocook
If you can make it, we'd love to see you at our first performance on July 13. Assuming the weather is good, we'll play at 6:30 pm on the terrace of the Stillwater Library. There's still time to sign up and join us for the second half of the summer, too! :)
