Scenes
Saturday, October 24, 2026 • 7:00 PM
The Concord Band
James O‘Dell, Music Director and Conductor
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Program
Scenes from "The Louvre"
| Norman Dello Joio |
| Iditarod from Portraits of the North | Robert Buckley |
| Of Sailors and Whales | W. Francis McBeth |
| Timothy Powers, narrator | |
| |
Intermission | |
| Ireland: Of Legend and Lore | Robert W. Smith |
Pictures at an Exhibition
| Modest Moussorgsky arr. Erik Leidzen |
The music of "Scenes"
Scenes are continuous units of action in a play, movie, or book. This "Scenes" concert brings the listener into museums, adventure novels, and travel. Scenes from "The Louvre", written for band by Norman Dello Joio, is drawn from the soundtrack he wrote for a 1964 NBC television special about the Louvre in Paris; Dello Joio’s band piece depicts five scenes at that museum.
Modest Mussorgsky wrote Pictures at an Exhibition for piano in 1874 as a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and painter friend Viktor Hartmann, who had died the previous year. Maurice Ravel orchestrated “Pictures” in 1922. The band transcription of Ravel’s orchestration was completed by Erik Leidzen in 1942.
Of Sailors and Whales by W. Francis McBeth is based on five scenes from Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, with movements about Ishmael, Queequeg, Father Mapple, Ahab, and the white whale. The piece was commissioned for the California All State Band and premiered in 1990. Iditarod by Robert Buckley is the third movement from his 2012 “Portraits of the North” and about the famous Alaskan sled dog race.
Ireland: Of Legend and Lore written by Robert W Smith in 1996 has scenes of three castles and several colorful characters known for legendary deeds from Irish history and folklore to put to music. We hope you enjoy the music of these scenes.
