Symphonic & Wind Ensemble Concert
The JMM Band program’s concert season started with a bang Wednesday, October 24th, at 7:30 p.m., in the Buchhausen Auditorium, when members of the United States Navy Band joined them in performing the first concert of the season. First the Symphonic Band played “Puszta,” composed by Jan Van der Roost, “Beyond the Breaking Tides,” by Christian Earl, and “Ireland: Of Legend and Lore,” by Robert W. Smith. They were followed by the Wind Ensemble, which performed Richard Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” a beautiful rendition of Hadyn Wood’s “Mannin Veen,” and “Sinfonia India,” by Carlos Chavez. The audience was treated to a rousing grand finale when all three bands (Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and the U.S. Navy Band) crowded onto the stage for an exciting rendition of John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Wind Ensemble flute player Heather Swartz stood up and nailed the piccolo solo brilliantly, and the U.S. Navy band director, Master Chief Lawrence, who conducted Sousa’s march, shook her hand vigorously. The audience rose to its feet in a noisy standing ovation after the finale.
Members of the United States Navy Band spent the entire day at JMM working with band students. They ran clinics for Concert Bands I and II in the morning, after which the brass quintet and rock band performed during the day. The ensemble then interspersed themselves among the JMM performers that night for the concert’s grand finale. Master Chief Lawrence even invited the JMM Band to go to Chicago to work with the U.S. Navy Band in their hall! It was an exciting day for the Memorial music program!
The Wind Ensemble will be performing some of its pieces from the concert, most notably “Mannin Veen,” on Thursday, October 26th, at the Wisconsin Music Educators Association Conference at the Monona Terrace at 8:30 a.m. The Wind Ensemble was one of two bands chosen out of about 2000 across the state of Wisconsin to play at the conference, so it is a huge honor. Three of the band students, Brian Nelson (tuba), Julia Mann (flute), and Neah Hinterberg (clarinet) were interviewed on Channel 57’s “Talk of the Town” about the upcoming performance. The show aired six times. You can watch the video on the JMM Band Boosters website, put together by band parent Lori Scarlett, at https://jmmbands.wixsite.com/jmmbandboosters.
Concert Band I and Concert Band II will be performing their first concert of the year in the auditorium on Wednesday, November 1st, at 7:30 p.m.