2010
Friends & Family Day, June 19, 2010
We had a delightful time playing at Birch Meadows Park. While we recycled some previous music, each time we sound a little bit better!
Spring Concert, May 9 at Wood End School
Our Spring Concert was at Reading's Wood End School, this past Sunday, May 9,
at 3pm. The theme was music from TV and movies. Cartoons like the Flintstones, western
movies, TV dramas all will made their appearence. But wait! Was that
the musical theme of "Jeopardy"? When it sounded, the audience got to guess the show. And there were lots of prizes from generous local merchants!
And what did Keith Pederson, one of our esteemed flutists, do with a duck
call? Our concert was a great treat for lots of Moms!
Winter Concert, February 28 at RMHS
Our Winter Concert was at Reading Memorial High School, Sunday, February 28, at 3pm. The theme was "Colors". Rhapsody in Blue? Greensleeves?
Yellow Submarine? Something by Giuseppe Verdi? We had a full spectrum of music that delighted the audience.
2009
Fall Concert, December 6, 2009
A British Invasion hit our music! We had a delightful time playing
at Parker Middle School while the Reading Festival of Trees was going
on. We played...
- The Colonel Bogey march by Kenneth Alford
- selections from H.M.S.Pinafore by Arthur Sullivan
- Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger
- overture to "Wasps" by Ralph Vaughan Williams
- The Bandwagon by Philip Sparke
- Sevillana by Sir Edward Elgar
- A Moorside Suite by Gustav Holst
- Irish Tune from County Derry by Percy Grainger
Friends & Family Day, June 20, 2009
We had a delightful time playing at Birch Meadows Park. While we recycled some previous music, it sounded even better this time!
We played...
- Victory at Sea
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- English Sea Song Suite (Sparke)
- Night in the Tropics
- Askokan Farewell
Mothers Day Concert
Our Mother's Day concert had the theme of "songs of the sea". The
concert was held at the Wood End School on May 10th at 3:00pm. Also,
this was our annual "Where's the Music?" concert - we hid the theme
from "Gilligan's Island" in each of our pieces of music! The music had
the audience floating with delight!
we played...
- Sea Songs -- Vaughan William
- Poems of the Sea -- Ernst Bloch
- Pirates of the Caribbean -- selections
- Hands Across the Sea -- Sousa
- Victory at Sea -- Richard Rogers
- Mayflower Overture -- Ron Nelson ...or...
- English Sea Song Suite -- Philip Sparke
2008
Fall Concert
Our Fall concert was on Sunday, November 2nd
and had the theme of Hallowe'en! The audience shivered to some of the
scariest music ever written! A highlight was a performance of Symphony
for Salem by D.M.McCoy.
we played...
- "A Symphony for Salem, 1692" - D.M.McCoy
- "Abracadabra" - Frank Ticheli
- "Music for a Darkened Theater" - Danny Eleman, arr. Michael Brown
- "Allerseelen" - Richard Strauss (Op.10,#8), arr. Albert Oliver Davix
- "The Inferno (from The Divine Comedy)" - Robert W. Smith
- INTERMISSION
- "Sine Nomine" - Ralph Vaughn Williams, arr. Alfred Reed
- "Night on Bald Mountain" - Modeste Moussorgsky, arr. William A. Schaeffer
- "March To The Scaffold (fr Symphonie Fantasique, Op 14)" - Hector berlioz, arr. Erik W. G. Leidzen
- "On a Hymnsong of Phillip Bliss" - David R. Holsinger
Symphony for Salem Sample Music
click here for a quick tempo version of Symphony for Salem
click here for a medium tempo version of Symphony for Salem
click here for a slow tempo version of Symphony for Salem
Performance of Symphony for Salem and Night on Bald Mountain
click here for Symphony for Salem Movement 1
click here for Symphony for Salem Movement 2
click here for Symphony for Salem Movement 3
click here for Symphony for Salem Movement 4
click here for Night on Bald Mountain
Olde Redding Faire
On Friday, October 26th, we played at
the First Congregational Church's Olde Redding Faire. While downstairs
was filled with artisans and all types of yummy food, we played in the
sanctuary to a delightfully large crowd. A particular hit was Gabriel
Faure's Pavanne.
We played...
- "March of the Dragon Masters" - Robert Jager
- "Chorale Prelude: Be Thou My Vision" - Jack Stamp
- "1988 Summer Olympics Theme" - John Williams, arr. Jay Bocook
- "Swanee" - George Gershwin, arr. Robert Russell Bennett
- "Pavane, Opus 50" - Gabriel Faure, arr. Larry Clark
- "Americans We" - Henry Fillmore, arr. Andrew Balent
- "Ashokan Farewell" - Jay Ungar, arr. Calvin Custer
Summer Concert in the Park
This past August 17 at 6pm we
performed in Reading's Memorial Park as part of the Reading Summer
Concert Series. People brought lawn chairs, coolers, we saw several
dogs (mostly large and affectionate) and they all joined us for a great
early evening in the summer of American music at it's best.
We played...
- "American Patrol" - F.W.Meacham, arr. Paul Yoder
- "Annie Get Your Gun" - Irving Berlin, arr. Erik Leidzen
- "The Homefront" - arr. James Christensen
- "Midway March" - John Williams, arr. John Moss
- "The King of Swing" - Benny Goodman, arr. Paul Murtha
- INTERMISSION
- "American Salute" - Morton Gould, arr. Phillip Lang
- "A Copland Tribute" - Aaron Copland, arr. Clare Grundman
- "In the Miller Mood" - Glenn Miller et al.
- "Stars & Strips" - John Philip Sousa, arr. Keith Brion
Spring Concert
Our Spring concert was on Mothers Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 3pm. The concert was at the Wood End School.
The
theme was "We've No Business in Show Business" and featured an exciting
array of show tunes. Mom got a real treat, and the audience got to sing
along with some of their favorite music!
Winter Concert
Our Winter concert was on Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 8pm at the new Reading Memorial High School. .
This
was a very special concert, even for our usual Winter Gala. Our theme
was "The Greatness of Gershwin and Grofe" -- two composers who were
collaborators, friends and contemporaries. We explored their
relationship and the juxtaposition of compositions that have no
apparent connection, as well as performed the piece that both men are
most famous for: Rhapsody in Blue.
We were very fortunate to be able to perform Rhapsody in Blue with concert pianist Virginia Eskin. Click here for Ms Eskin's website.
Virginia Eskin's concert appearances include the Annapolis, Buffalo,
Louisville, New Hampshire, Rochester, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and
Utah Symphony Orchestras, the Boston Classical, the Israel Sinfonietta,
and the Boston Pops. She has also performed as a soloist with the New
York City and Boston Ballet Companies, and at New York 's Morgan
Library in New York.
Her concerto repertoire includes Rachmaninoff, Second Piano Concerto,
Shostakovitch Concerto No. 1, Amy Beach Piano Concerto, and Mozart,
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, all of which she has
performed recently. During 2005-06 she performed MacDowell's Concerto
in D minor in Athens with the National Orchestra of Greece, Beethoven's
3rd Concerto with Symphony by the Sea (MA), and Clara Schumann's piano
concerto with the Atlanta (GA) Chamber Symphony. She continues to give
recitals throughout the United States, including the Athenaeum in La
Jolla and Sonoma (CA), Monadnock Music (NH), Mohonk Music (NY), and the
Atherton Theatre in Honolulu.
Ms. Eskin recently created and hosted "First Ladies of Music", a
13-program radio series sponsored by Northeastern University and
produced by WFMT, Chicago, carried by over 100 radio stations in the
United States and abroad. She holds the appointment of Visiting Artist,
Northeastern University Department of Music, and received an honorary
Doctorate of Humane Letters from Keene State College (NH) to recognize
her contributions to women's music.
Music we played was...
- Campus March -- Grofe
- Strike up the Band -- Gershwin
- Three Shades of Blue -- Grofe (a concert band premiere with Eskin on piano)
- Gershwin! -- (a medley of Gershwin standards)
- On the Trail -- Grofe
- Overture to Porgy and Bess -- Gershwin
- Selection from Mississippi Suite -- Grofe
- Rhapsody in Blue (arr. by Donald Hunsberger)
2007
Fall Concert
In New England, not only were the leaves on fire with color, but so
was our concert!. The theme for our Fall concert was "fire". The
performance was on Sunday, November 18, at 3 p.m. at Parker Middle
School in Reading. The flaming centerpiece was Stravinsky's "Firebird",
but music ranged from that to popular pieces such as "There'll Be A Hot
Time In The Old Town Tonight".
Music we played was...
- A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight - Theo Metz, G. Breigel & L Ellert arr.
- The Royal Fireworks Music - George Frederick Handel, Harvey Sartorius arr.
- Inferno - Robert W. Smith
- Selections from Bizet's Carmen - V.F. Safranck arr.
- Themes From Offenbach - arr. Claire Johnson
- --INTERMISSION--
- Fire House Special - Paul Yoder
- Tobasco - Charles L. Johnson.
- Suite from the Ballet The Firebird - Igor Stravinsky, Fredrick Fennell arr.
- The Stripper (encore) - David Rose
click here to listen to a sound file of Stravinsky's Firebird.
Summer Concert in the Park!
Our summer concert was on Sunday, August 12, at 6 p.m. at Memorial
Park just off the center of Reading. The concert had an "all American"
theme with music ranging from show tunes to Stars and Stripes Forever.
People came, sat on the grass, enjoyed a warm summer evening, and heard
some great music!
click here to download an mp3 file of Benson's The Leaves Are Falling
Mother's Day Concert
Our Mother's Day Concert was on Sunday, May 18, at 3 p.m. at the
Wood End School in Reading. The theme of the concert was a musical
variation on "Where's Waldo?" The audience enjoyed some great music,
and tested their powers of musical observation!
click here to download an mp3 file of Benson's The Leaves Are Falling
Our Celebration of Black History Month!
On Saturday, February 17, the Reading Civic Concert Band shared the
stage with a 40-person Gospel choir, the Boston Choral Society. We
celebrated the rich and varied contributions that black performers and
composers have given to American music. The program spanned Jazz,
Ragtime, Spirituals, a tribute to Duke Ellington, and selections from
The American Scene by William Grant Still. The concert began at 8:00pm
in the new Reading Memorial High School auditorium. Tickets at the door
were $15, $10 for seniors and students, 5 yrs and under were admitted
free. Watch for a recording of the performance on RCTV and other
neighboring public access television stations!
Click here for more about this recent concert.
