2008 Fall Concert

50th Anniversary Season

Saturday, October 25, 2008

The Concord Band

Dr. William G. McManus, Music Director

Dr. Steven Grimo, Guest Conductor

Program
Dr. William G. McManus conducting
Parade of the Tall Ships	Jay A. Chattaway
Four Songs Without Words on Poems of Kleist	Michael H. Weinstein
Gluck Auf! Hymn An Die Sonne Ich will hinein Du bist mir die Kamille
Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon	Percy Grainger
Boston Liberties	Julie Giroux
Boston Harbor Facts are Stubborn Things Granary Grounds A Penny a Ton
An Ellington Portrait	arr. Floyd E. Werle
Intermission
Dr. Steven Grimo, conducting
La Mezquita de Córdoba	Julie Giroux
Dr. William G. McManus conducting
Porgy and Bess Selection	George Gershwin; arr. Robert Russell Bennett
Dr. Steven Grimo, conducting
March Madness	arr. TSgt. John Bliss

Read all notes for this program...

Parade of the Tall Ships

Parade of the Tall Ships is an exciting concert march composed by Jay Chattaway in commemoration of the 1976 Operation Sail, which was the largest gathering of tall sailing ships from all over the world. This historic event took place in New York Harbor on July 4, 1976, as part of America’s Bicentennial celebration. (WGM)

Four Songs Without Words on Poems of Kleist

The Concord Band is honored to present the world premiere of Four Songs Without Words on Poems of Kleist for Concert Band, an original work for concert band by Concord resident Michael Weinstein, who teaches composition at the New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. This work was inspired by four poems of German writer Heinrich Kleist. Discussing poety and musical composition, Weinstein writes, “I love poetry and am delighted at finding a good verse or two for a song setting—once I find something I like, it makes the composing easier for me (not as abstract an exercise as writing, say, a sonata or a symphony or concerto). A good poem suggests an immediate form and gives the mood of a composition.” (WGM)

Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon

Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon is a slow, sustained Scottish folk song. This setting by composer Percy Grainger is one of his most memorable folk song settings, and is now considered one of the cornerstones of band repertoire. Grainger’s original setting of this was done in 1901 for “men’s chorus and whistlers.” (Source: Band Music Notes)

An Ellington Portrait

Duke Ellington was one of the few jazz artists whose style never seemed to become dated. He was always able to blend his own art with new influences and trends. Songs he wrote as long as seventy years ago still sound fresh and many of the most up-to-date jazz musicians still play them. Floyd Werle’s setting of An Ellington Portrait includes eight – but by no means all – of his best ones: “It Don’t Mean a Thing ,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Mood Indigo,” (his first “hit”), “Azure,” “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart,” “Solitude,” “Caravan” and “In A Sentimental Mood.” (Source: Band Music Notes)

La Mezquita de Córdoba

In 169 B. C. the Romans founded Córdoba, Spain. After the fall of Rome, it existed under the rule of the Visigoths and became the capital of Al Andalus, Muslim Spain, in 716. When the Moors conquered Córdoba, they found a Visigoth cathedral, promptly pulled it down and built a mosque complex, the wall of which enclosed about four acres. Over the centuries, the Moors roofed over and developed more and more within this complex. Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faiths alike were practiced within its walls, an unprecedented feat that would be unheard of today. When the Christians reconquered Córdoba in 1236, the new rulers were so awed by its beauty that they left it standing, building their cathedral in the midst of its rows of arches and columns. Thus it is preserved today, fondly referred to in Spain as “La Grand Mezquita.” Julie Giroux’s La Mezquita de Córdoba opens with the destruction of the original Christian church in 716 A.D. and proceeds as a musical celebration of its multi-cultural, religious and artistic accomplishments. (Source: published score)

Porgy and Bess Selection

Porgy and Bess Selection contains seven songs from George Gershwin’s folk opera, Porgy and Bess, which climaxed Gershwin’s spectacular career. Porgy and Bess has been criticized as being between serious opera and musical comedy, but the beauty of the music and the expressive content which is so right for the occasion, has an immediate and complete appeal. This arrangement by Robert Russell Bennett includes: “Summertime,” “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing,” “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “Picnic Parade,” and “Oh Lawd, I’m on My Way.” (Source: Band Music Notes)

March Madness

March Madness was arranged for the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C., by TSgt. John Bliss. This delightful and very unusual march arrangement is composed of sections, themes, and quotes from numerous wellknown marches including symphonic marches, circus marches, marches from television shows, movies and Broadway, and, of course, Sousa marches. Tonight’s audience will be challenged to see how many of these marches they can identify. (WGM)

Lifetime Service Award to Retiring Music Director Dr. William G. McManus

Music Director Emeritus Dr Bill McManus

In 2002, the Concord Band Board of Trustees introduced the Lifetime Service Award to honor individuals whose participation, over a significant span of time, has made a fundamental difference to the Concord Band. On October 25, 2008, the Lifetime Service Award will be given to Dr. William G. McManus, who retires at Music Director of the Concord Band after the 50th Anniversary concert in March.

His Award plaque will read as follows:

As Music Director of the Concord Band for the last 14 of its first 50 years, Dr. William G. McManus added substantially to the solid foundataion established by his legendary predecessor. He helped the Band achieve more than its members had realized was possible. He introduced world-class soloists and guest conductors. The commissions undertaken during his tenure were truly remarkable. In continuing to present to the community the best that the symphonic wind ensemble has to offer, Bill McManus's accomplishments were perhaps best summarized in a recent concert review: "He has honed a very good band into a super one.

An Honor Roll is displayed prominently in the 51 Walden lobby listing all those who have received this very special award.

Past Award recipients have been Bill Burdine and William Toland (2002), CarlGetz and Robert Turkington (2003), GeneParish and William R. Phelan (2004), EdRichter and Bill Siebert (2005), Jerry Welts (2006), and Barbara Cataldo (2007).

Guest Conductor Spotlight: Dr Steven Grimo

Dr Steven Grimo, Lt Col USAF (retired)
Guest Conductor

Dr. Steven Grimo is a native of Bristol, Rhode Island. Presently, he is serving as the Chairman of the Music Department at the Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He attended the New England Conservatory of Music, where he earned a BME in Music Education and a BA in Percussion Performance. Upon graduation, Dr. Grimo began his teaching career in the Newton, Mass. public schools and the Auburn, Mass. public schools (1978-1980). He later became Director of Instrumental Music at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden, Massachusetts (1980-1985). During his teaching tenure in Massachusetts, he received his Masters of Music degree in Wind Ensemble Conducting from the New England Conservatory.

From 1986 to 2007, Dr. Grimo served in the United States Air Force. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, serving with the USAF Bands and Music Branch as a Commander and Music Director for the US Air Force Academy Band in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He had previously served as Commander and Music Director of the USAF Bands of the West, the Pacific and Mid America. As a music director, conductor and producer, he has lectured and conducted professional and collegiate organizations throughout the world. In 2006, he was inducted into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association.