Marshall Municipal Band to perform 2 holiday concerts

Marshall Municipal Band's announcer Randy Shannon introduces a piece of music during the 2008 Independence Day concert at the Marshall Habilitation Center. The band will perform at MHC Thursday, July 2, and at Indian Foothills Park Saturday, July 4. (Eric Crump/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Marshall Municipal Band has a pair of patriotic performances planned for the Independence Day celebrations.

The first performance will be in the gazebo at the Marshall Habilitation Center on Thursday evening, July 2.

The second concert will be Saturday evening, July 4, at Indian Foothills Park.

The band will perform on the west side of the parking lot by the Guthrey play area. Both free concerts will begin at 8 p.m. and will be followed by fireworks.

"These are two of the band's favorite concerts of the season," said Director Kevin Lines. "It's always great fun to help Marshall celebrate the Fourth of July."

The concert will open with the E.E. Bagley march, "National Emblem." "Bagley quotes the national anthem in the opening strain of this well-known march," Lines said.

Additional marches on the program will be the John Philip Sousa march "Solid Men to the Front," and a march new to the band's library, "Old Glory Triumphant," by Charles E. Duble.

Duble's march was published in 1919 and has a distinctly patriotic feeling in contrast to his circus marches. This undoubtedly was a result of the great patriotic feeling that existed in the U.S. following the end of World War I.

The band's first overture is "The Blue and The Gray" by Clare Grundman.

This Civil War suite includes "Kingdom Coming," "Marching Though Georgia," "Tenting Tonight," "The Yellow Rose of Texas," "The Bonnie Blue Flag," "Aura Lee," "Dixie," "Battle Cry of Freedom" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

The band's second overture will be James Swearingen's "Flight of Valor." This work is based on the hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul," and was commissioned by the Somerset County (Pennsylvania) Community Band in honor of those heroes who tragically lost their lives in plane crash in a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001.

Members of the trombone section will be featured in the next work, "Lassus Trombone." The composer Henry Fillmore was well known for these trombone novelty numbers.

The band will honor servicemen and women with its next selection, "Armed Forces Salute."

"This work includes the official song of each branch of the military and the band will invite former and current members of the military to stand and be recognized when the theme of their branch is performed," Lines said.

Broadway musicals are always popular at band concerts and the Marshall band will perform highlights from the musical "Oklahoma" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.

This medley includes, "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," "People Will Say We're in Love" and the title song, "Oklahoma."

The band's final overture is the James D. Ployhar arrangement "Centennial Overture."

"This work is potpourri of melodies that played a prominent part in the history of states in the upper Midwest," Lines said. "This arrangement was written in 1989 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of statehood for North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana."

This work includes, "Garryowen," "Across the Wide Missouri," "We Want Teddy Four More Years," and "God of our Fathers."

The band's closing trilogy will begin with the sacred selection, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Julia W. Howe wrote the words to this hymn in 1861 when she was visiting a Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.

She heard the soldiers singing the song "John Brown's Body" and was taken with the strong marching beat.

The patriotic work will be John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Sousa wrote this work on Christmas Day 1896 after learning of the death of his long-time business manager, David Blakely.

The concert will conclude with "Uncle Sammy."