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Iowa City Community Band Holiday Concert 2017

with Iowa City New Horizons Band

 Free

  The Englert Theatre

Event Description

Box Office Hours

Tuesday - Friday
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
(319) 688-2653
info@englert.org

Ticketing: This event is FREE and open to the public
Tickets are not required

More Info: Iowa City Community Band
More Info: Iowa City New Horizons Band


Description

From Pete Trotter’s column in Press-Citizen:

On Sunday, Dec. 17, the Iowa City New Horizons Band and the Iowa City Community Band will play their annual holiday concert at 2 p.m. at the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.

New Horizons will take the stage at 2 p.m. The band is under the direction of University of Iowa assistant professor Erin Wehr. This holiday concert will be directed by UI music education graduate student Toni LeFebvre and UI undergraduate music education student Tremere Hill. Trey has been with the band for a couple of years. This is Toni’s first semester and concert with the band.

The Community Band will follow at 3 p.m. under the direction of Rob Medd. Rob is band director and music department chair at Iowa City West High School.

In addition to some holiday favorites, the New Horizons program includes:

  • Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” Finale Excerpts (Antonín Dvorák, arr. Larry Daehn);
  • “Gabriel’s Oboe” 
(Ennio Morricone, arrangement Robert Longfield);
  • “The Genius of Ray Charles” (arrangement by Michael Brown);
  • “To a Distant Place” (Carl Strommen);
  • “Surprise Cha-cha-cha” (Robert Logan); and
  • “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” (John Philip Sousa, arrangement by Jack Bullock).

Dvorák finished his Symphony No. 9 in Spillville, Iowa. “Gabriel’s Oboe” is the music theme from the 1986 movie “The Mission.” “The Genius of Ray Charles” blends the memorable hits “Georgia On My Mind,” “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “What’d I Say,” “Hallelujah I Love Her So,” and “Let the Good Times Roll.” “To a Distant Place” is a tone poem based on a traditional folk melody. “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” celebrates Sousa’s membership in the Shriners.

The Community Band program includes:

  • “A Christmas Festival Overture” (Leroy Anderson);
  • “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (Albert Hague, arrangement by Larry Clark );
  • “The Holly and the Ivy” (arrangement by Franco Cesarini);
  • “Here We Come A’Wassailing” (arrangement by Warren Barker);
  • “The Bells of Christmas” (arrangement by John Higgins);
  • “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” (arrangement by Larry Kerchner);
  • “Sleigh Ride” (Leroy Anderson); and
  • “Stars and Stripes for Christmas” (John Philip Sousa, arrangement by Robert Foster).

These selections are a mixture of perennial band and audience favorites that have been rotated in and out of this holiday concert over the past 10 years. No concert is complete without Leroy Anderson’s “Christmas Festival,” which includes his masterful arrangement of eight of the season’s traditional carols. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a favorite of kids young and old. A new piece this year is Cesarini’s arrangement of “The Holly and the Ivy,” one of the oldest and most traditional English carols. “The Stars and Stripes for Christmas” makes a perfect finale since the Community Band ends every concert with the “Stars and Stripes Forever.” “Jingle Bells,” “Hallelujah Chorus,” “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” and “Angels We Have Heard On High” are intertwined with “The Stars And Stripes Forever” in an ingenious way.

Come enjoy the music at the Englert Theatre on Sunday. There is no charge for the concert, but free-will donations to support the Englert Theatre are appreciated.

For more information about the Iowa City New Horizons Band, please visit iowacitynhb.org. For more information about the Iowa City Community Band, visit iccband.org.

Pete Trotter plays bassoon in the Iowa City area with the Court Hill Winds, Trio 221 and other groups.

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