Friday, September 8, 2017

Songs & Dances

2017 Fall Concert Poster

The Concord Band’s 59th Season begins Saturday, October 21st

Join the Concord Band as it begins its 59th year of music-making, continuing a multiple seasons-long exploration of some of the great works for symphonic concert band. The Band’s Fall Concert, Songs and Dances, will be presented at the Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden Street in Concord, MA, on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at 8:00 PM. Admission is free; contributions are greatly appreciated. The 2017–2018 season begins by featuring two outstanding soloists, Concord Band alto saxophonist John Rabinowitz, and Boston Conservatory at Berklee graduate student, mezzo-soprano Alyssa Becker.

Song and Dance* by Richard L. Saucedo is a type of fanfare/overture that begins with an obvious dance rhythm but quickly transforms to a non-traditional dance feel and mood, somewhat “tongue in cheek” in nature.

John Rabinowitz
alto saxophone
Claude Debussy’s musical gem The Girl With The Flaxen Hair showcases the beautiful timbre (tone color) of the alto saxophone performed by Concord Band soloist John Rabinowitz in a lush and quasi-improvisational harmonic setting by John Moss.

Court Festival* by William P. Latham is written in the form and style of 16th- and 17th-century instrumental dance music. The four-movement suite includes “Intrada”, “Pavan”, “Galliard”, and “The Horses’ Branle”.

Cantus is the Latin word for song, and this unique work Cantus (Song of Night)*, with prepared CD accompaniment by composer Thomas Doss, presents a melodious, vocal-like meditative mood and character.
Alyssa Becker
mezzo-soprano

Five Folk Songs for Soprano and Band* by Bernard Gilmore was cited as “Best Original Composition” at the 1967 College Band Directors Conference”. Mezzo-soprano soloist Alyssa Becker joins the Concord Band in presenting this setting featuring five movements representing Irish, American, Greek, Spanish, and Yiddish folk songs.

American composer David R. Holsinger wrote Havendance for his daughter, Haven, with the intention of capturing the spirit, energy, and enthusiasm of the 8- year-old as she whirled, twirled, danced, and dreamed of becoming a ballerina.

Old American Songs presents four traditional songs, originally arranged by Aaron Copland for orchestra, in a concert-band setting by John Moss. The songs include “The Little Horses”, “The Golden Willow Tree”, “Simple Gifts”, and “Ching-A-Ring Chaw.”

Prolific American composer Frank Ticheli has written more than eighty works for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensemble, and concert band/wind ensemble. His jazz-influenced composition Blue Shades was a featured work on the 2017 Concord Band Winter Concert. Cajun Folk Songs pays tribute to the people of the old Cajun culture in two movements, the first flowing and lyrical, the second lively and full of mixed meters.

*Concord Band premier performance

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Spotlight: Guest Artist Alyssa Becker

photo by Ryan Towe Photography
Alyssa Becker
Mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano, Alyssa Becker, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, graduated cum laude from Drake University in 2016 with her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance. Currently Ms. Becker is a second year Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy student at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee under the tutelage of Kathryn Wright. She also serves as adjunct voice faculty at the Boston Arts Academy and holds a private studio at Amy Dancz Vocal Studio.

Previously, Ms. Becker has worked with vocal high school programs in the Des Moines area as well as her own home studio. Most recently, Ms. Becker was the mezzo-soprano soloist with The Boston Conservatory at Berklee Conductor’s Choir performing Haydn’s Salve Regina.

Ms. Becker received her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Leanne Freeman-Miller, where she performed Mrs. Gibbs (understudy) and chorus in Ned Rorem’s Our Town, Meg in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Marcellina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

In 2015, Ms. Becker traveled to Bejing, China, to perform at Minzu University. She participated in opera scenes including Lakme (Mallika), Die Zauberflöte (3rd Lady), and La Clemenza di Tito (Annio).

Ms. Becker is a two-time state winner of the Music Teachers National Association competition in Iowa and in 2015 placed second in the West Central Division regional competition. At the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition, Ms. Becker has received honorable mention, been a two-year semifinalist, and placed third.

Spotlight: Saxophone Soloist John Rabinowitz

John Rabinowitz
saxophone
John Rabinowitz, who has played alto saxophone with the Concord Band since 2012, has studied instrumental performance extensively in the Boston area. He studied classical saxophone with Ken Radnofsky at the Longy School and the New England Conservatory, and jazz technique with Mark Phaneuf at the New School of Music in Cambridge. John also studied classical piano at the Longy School with Betty Roberts, Elise Jackendoff and Lyubov Schlain.

In addition to his ongoing participation in the Concord Band, John is a founding member of the Area 9 Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to exploring the rich, diverse and ever-growing classical saxophone repertoire. Area 9 has performed works by Bach, Glazunov, Creston, Bennett, Debussy, Lateef and Vaughan Williams, as well as world premieres of pieces by contemporary composers Jun Feng and Michael Kosch. The Quartet has significant concert schedules in Cambridge and Manhattan.

John is also a regular performer with Les Messengers de la Nouvelle Alliance, a Haitian reggae gospel band that plays throughout greater Boston. A native of Nutley, New Jersey, John earned a BA in American History from Harvard College. He currently resides in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Friday, September 1, 2017

2017–18 Season Poster

The Concord Band Announces its 2017–18 Concert Season.