Our band had its group recital this past Tuesday evening at the Summit County District Library's auditorium. The entire event took about two hours total. I don't think that I've even been to anything quite like it.
1. The vast majority of the audience consisted of the band and orchestra members. All of us sat in the auditorium seats until our group was called up to the stage for the various performances. We all appeared on stage only when called, so there was some delay between each. The instruments were kept off to the right, cased, and weren't taken out of the cases until it was that particular group's turn.
2. The first performance was a xylophone duet that included our director and a very talented man that just happened to be blind. He even assembled the instrument on the stage by himself.
3. The recital groups consisted of woodwinds, brass, strings and percussion. The woodwinds (including the saxophones) performed Celebrated Air by J S Bach.
4. A vocal selection included one of our violinists who sang a song that she had also written of her desire to go back to the days and place of her youth.
5. We also enjoyed a selection entitled Fantasia Arabesque that featured one of our best flutists, our director on (I apologize for not knowing the name of this instrument) a bongo of sorts, as well as one of our percussionists who performed a belly dance to the music, including the balancing of an Arabian style sword on her head. It was all very tastefully done.
6. Some members of our band got together on their own and played a few different tunes including "Just Because" by Frankie Yankovich and the theme from the TV series "Hogan's Heros"
7. The recital ended with our brass playing "Soul Bosa Nova" by Quincy Jones.
8. I had forgot to mention that the percussion's selection was a rhythm exercise that our director made to help all of us in counting and sub-dividing. You might call it an audience-participation number.
9. At the conclusion of the recital, our director announced that we will, in August, be performing alongside musicians from Helen Welch's orchestra. About half of the pieces that we will be playing that day will be her music and of professional quality. The various parts to each piece that we will be playing will be individually assigned. As she is from the UK, some of you may know of her. Here is information from her website:
I will say that I walked away from the evening with an increased appreciation of music and all of those that bring it to us. It would be a mighty tough world without it!
