Press Release

Clarinet Virtuosity and Favorite Commissions to Highlight Concord Band's Winter Concert

Ethan Sloane soloist

Concord, Mass., February 12, 2008 — The Concord Band's Winter Concert will feature guest soloist Ethan Sloane, Professor of Clarinet at Boston University. Professor Sloane will play Carl Maria von Weber's Concertino for Clarinet, one of the most popular solo pieces for the clarinet and one that helped establish the clarinet as a leading instrument for the expression of Romantic music. In addition, the March 1st concert will continue to spotlight previous commissions by the Band in anticipation of the Band's Fiftieth Anniversary Concert next year.

Professor Sloane earned his Bachelor of Music degree at New England Conservatory, and Masters and Doctorate degrees at Yale University. As soloist and recitalist, Professor Sloane has appeared extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He founded the Virginia-based Hampden-Sydney Music Festival in 1980 and still serves as the Artistic Director of this prestigious chamber music festival. His devotion to the extensive solo and chamber music literature for clarinet has earned critical acclaim, and his editions of masterworks by Brahms and Mozart have received wide acceptance.

Concord Band Music Director Dr. William G. McManus has chosen to feature several pieces that were either commissioned by the Band, or written by composers of other Concord Band commissions. The concert will open with Triumphant Entrance, composed by Warren Barker for the Band in 1991, which features fanfares and a processional theme. Another Concord Band commission will conclude the program. Welsh Variants, a 1988 commission composed by James Curnow, is a theme and variations based on the Welsh folk song "Suo Gan."

The Band will also present a work by Roger Cichy, who has been selected to write the Band's next commission, which is to be premiered at the Fiftieth Anniversary Concert. Colours is Cichy's impressionistic six-movement suite in which each movement represents a different color. From Every Horizon is a musical portrayal of New York City by Norman Dello Joio, composer in 1975 of the Band's first commission, Satiric Dances. In addition, Assistant Conductor Paul Berler will also conduct two pieces on the program: Gustav Holst's classic First Suite in E♭ for Military Band and Crown Imperial, a concert march by William Walton.

The concert begins at 8:00 pm at 51 Walden Street in Concord. Tickets are $10.00 each ($5 for students and seniors) and are available at the door. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Concord Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

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. Thousands attend its summer concerts at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts, each year.

For additional information, contact Peter Norton, Concord Band Publicity. Visit our website at www.concordband.org.