The Concord Band Presents Winter Concert with Trombone Virtuoso Don Lucas
Don Lucas soloist
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Concord, MA The Concord Band will feature works by two
prominent American composers in its annual Winter on Saturday, March 3,
2007. This year, the Band is highlighting the music of J. Clifton
Williams and W. Francis McBeth. Composer McBeth once described Clifton
Williams as the "Godfather" of American concert band music. This concert
will feature three compositions by Clifton Williams as well as a special
performance by trombone virtuoso Don Lucas.
Most widely acclaimed as a composer of serious music for the concert
wind band, Clifton Williams composed in many forms. His compositions in
this medium have become basic repertory for American, Canadian, European,
and Japanese Bands.
Paul Berler, Assistant Conductor of the Concord Band, will open the
concert with Williams' Strategic Air Command March, one of very
few marches Williams ever composed, followed by his Symphonic Dance
No. 3, Fiesta. Fiesta depicts the pageantry of Latin American
celebrations street bands, bull fights, and bright costumes. This
work is one of five symphonic dances Williams composed for the 25th
anniversary of the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, in which Clifton
Williams played French horn for many years. Fiesta was subsequently
re-scored for concert band.
Dr. William G. McManus, Music Director of the Concord Band, will take
the podium to conduct Caccia and Chorale, the last work composed by
Williams before his untimely death in 1976. In the notes presented with
the conductor's score to this piece, Joseph M. Tate writes: "Knowing
the seriousness of his illness when he began this work and feeling that
he might not survive an impending operation, Williams intended to write
only the Caccia. However the surgery seemed to be successful and the
Chorale movement was thus composed as a personal prayer of thanksgiving
along with a sincere plea for ethical regeneration by all mankind."
To close the first half of the concert, the band will perform
Kaddish, by W. Francis McBeth. Kaddish, from the Aramaic
and Hebrew word for "holy," is the Jewish prayer for the dead. McBeth
composed this work as a memorial for Williams, his beloved teacher. The
"heartbeat" that runs throughout the piece in the percussion section is a
rhythmic quote from a measure in the Chorale of Williams' Caccia and
Chorale.
The second half of the concert will open with a performance of
Tatarian Dances by composer Elena Roussanova Lucas. Elena Lucas,
a native of Moscow, teaches theory and composition at the Berklee College
of Music and Boston University. Tatarian Dances is dedicated to her
mother, Lidia Roussanova, who still resides in Moscow. The Tatarian
people are descendents of the nomadic clans of Genghis Khan who came from
Manchuria/Mongolia. They traveled northeast, settling in Russia in the
ninth century. The Tatars live on the fertile and mineral-rich lands of
the Volga River region, the Ural Mountains, and Siberia. This area,
called Tatastan, is now a republic in the Russian Federation. Tatarian
music reflects the regions rich natural resources. This four movement
suite expresses the many traditions of the Tatarian holidays. The folk
music is fresh, lively, and melodious. Composer Elena Lucas resides in
Boston with her husband, trombone soloist Don Lucas, who also performs in
the program.
The concert will close with a performance of William Goldstein's
Colloquy, a work for solo trombone and symphonic band. This work
was commissioned by the United States Army Band and premiered before
12,000 people at an outdoor concert in Washington, D.C. in the summer of
1967. The New York Premiere took place at Carnegie Hall. Trombonist Joe
Alessi of the New York Philharmonic recently recorded Colloquy as did Ron
Barron of the Boston Symphony Orchestra a few years earlier. The Concord
Band is honored to feature trombonist Don Lucas, Chair of the Brass,
Woodwinds and Percussion Department at Boston University, in their
performance of this masterwork for trombone and symphonic band.
The concert begins at 8:00 pm at 51 Walden Street in Concord. Tickets
at $10.00 each ($5 for students and seniors) are available at the
door.
The Concord Band, founded in 1959, is one of the leading community
concert bands in the United States. It is well known for its innovative
programming and the exceptional quality of its commissioned pieces. It
presents both formal and Pops concerts throughout the year. Its summer
concerts at Fruitlands Museums in Harvard, Massachusetts are attended by
thousands each year. Visit our website: www.concordband.org
For additional information, contact Jean Munro,
Concord Band Publicity.
Visit our website at
www.concordband.org.
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