The new composition by composer Terry White is based on four Latin dance styles: Tango, Danzon, Songo and Samba. The piece has rhythms and motives that are common to the four dance styles, with unexpected rhythmic and harmonic twists that will keep Neil and his fellow percussionists busy. Neil sponsored the piece, his second commission for the Concord Band, in celebration of his 48 years with the Concord Band. Terry White has been a music educator and band leader in the Portland, Maine, area for over 34 years, and is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the University of New Hampshire.
In keeping with the theme of the Winter Concert, Music Director James O’Dell has chosen music from southern Spain, Andalusia, Peru, and Argentina, as well as Brazil. The program will include four movements from Georges Bizet’s famous opera Carmen, Julie Giroux’s Mezquita de Córdoba, Volver a la Montaña (Return to the Mountain) from a suite by Shelly Hanson based on Inca folk songs, La Bamba de Vera Cruz, and several familiar Spanish marches. The Concord Band also welcomes guest artists the Area 9 Quartet, a Boston-based saxophone quartet that includes two Concord Band saxophone players, John Rabinowitz and Kangyi Liu. Area 9 will play the Fandango and Choro y Tango movements from Aldemaro Romero’s Saxophone Quartet.
The Band is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that gladly accepts any donations through on-line links at the Concord Band website (www.concordband.org) or blog (blog.concordband.org), where you can also find more information about the 2013 Sudler Silver Scroll-winning Concord Band. The Concord Band is also supported by grants from Harvard and Bolton Cultural Councils, agencies of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
