He said the thinking was when audiences come to this particular concert, they will find something that they enjoy listening to. Regardless of whether they like band music or show tunes, there will be something on the program that will entertain everyone.
“This is first concert of 2020, and it’s part of our 51st season,” Nichols said. “This would be the first concert that I programmed completely as the new music director.
“What I’m finding is the music that is out there for concert bands, or symphonic bands, because we are in the modern era with technology, it’s just unlimited with what you can find,” he said.
The concert will start with a celebration hymn, “Alleluia! Laudamus Te” by Alfred Reed. Following this selection, the band will perform all five movements of Scenes from “The Louvre,” based on Ancient Air, and composed by Norman Dello Joio. The five movements — The Portals, Children’s Gallery, The Kings of France, The Nativity Paintings and Finale — depict the development of The Louvre during the Renaissance. The first half of the concert will conclude with Howard Hanson’s “Chorale and Alleluia.”
The second half of the concert will begin with a salute to veterans in the band and the audience as the group plays Clare Grundman’s “Concord,” for symphonic band, based on Revolutionary War tunes. Next, the program will take a turn as the band performs Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Waltz No. 2 from Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra,” arranged by James Curnow.
The band will turn to Broadway and the silver screen to close out the concert with selections from “The Greatest Showman,” arranged by Paul Murtha and selections from “Les Miserables,” arranged by Warren Barker.
“I didn’t realize in planning the program that ‘Les Miserables’ is actually in town at the Aronoff, but it just works out that way,” Nichols said. “That’s a synopsis of the program. We have some great band music, a dark, spooky waltz by Shostakovich, and then, some upbeat show tunes.”
The concert will feature two 30- to 40-minute segments with an intermission. There will be a reception in the lobby of the auditorium following the concert.
The Southwestern Ohio Symphonic Band is made up of about 95 all-volunteer musicians, primarily from Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky. SOSB performs three concerts each season at Dave Finkelman Auditorium at Miami’s Regional Campus in Middletown. Concerts are held on Sundays at 2:30 pm. The next concert, “Music Fit for a King,” will be held on May 3.
The band is sponsored by Miami University’s Institute for Learning in Retirement, the Middletown Symphony Orchestra Legacy Fund at the Middletown Community Foundation, and The Miriam G. Knoll Charitable Foundation. Audiences may review the concert program for information on how to become a patron of the Southwestern Ohio Symphonic Band.
HOW TO GO
What: "Music for Everyone" concert presented by The Southwestern Ohio Symphonic Band
When: Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m.
Where: Dave Finkelman Auditorium, Miami University Middletown, 4200 N. University Blvd.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
More info: ww.sosband.org
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