Bernstein. Reed. Sousa. Del Borgo. Saucedo. If you appreciate rich harmonies, melodies both new and familiar, and high-level professional musicianship, you won’t want to miss this program:
Overture to Candide – Leonard Bernstein Symphony No. 3 – Alfred Reed The Corcoran Cadets – John Philip Sousa Symphonic Paraphrase – Elliot Del Borgo Symphonic Dances from Westside Story – Bernstein Wind Sprints – Richard Saucedo
We’re playing them all on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m., at Corbet Theatre in Centralia. $12 general admission. Students free with paying adult.
On Saturday, October 14, 2023, at 7 p.m., the NW Wind Symphony presents a concert of music celebrating light-hearted amusement and fun — everything you’d expect from a good spread of appetizers.
The evening begins with an overture to Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, which is an operetta about romance, deception, revenge, and pranks. Life lesson: Don’t get drunk at parties or your friends will make you sleep it off in a public location dressed like a bat.
Next on the program, we’ll take you on a 100-year time warp. According to the internet, Respighi was an Italian guy who composed Pines of Rome in 1923-1924 to capture memories of centuries-old trees in four areas of the famous city. Unbeknownst to Respighi, our Pines conductor Dan Judd would tour these areas in 2023, to see the same trees (and maybe also different trees) yet another century later.
Now, if Die Fledermaus is about party guests playing pranks on a friend, Serenade for Wind Band is about a friend playing pranks on party guests. Written in 1965 as a recessional for his own wedding, Derek Bourgeois chose a strange, uneven meter, to prevent guests from leaving the ceremony in an orderly fashion. And that’s how we’ll send you to intermission — off kilter, like you had too much champagne (champagne not included).
We’ll open the second half of the concert with a piece by Alfred Reed called Sixth Suite for Band. I don’t know about you, but my first thought was, “What about the other five? I want a refund!” (Just kidding about the refund.) Not one to miss out, I listened to the first two minutes of the other five suites and I can tell you, our conductors picked the second best of the six. So we’re all good to go there.
If you like goofy music, you need to hear PDQ Bach’s Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion. This entire piece of music is a farce, and I jest not when I say that. If you’re a parent of a band kid, you’ll know if they play this piece at school because they’ll come home gleefully telling you nonsense about some music with trashy percussion (normal) and clarinets gargling water (not normal).
We’re closing this concert with The Footlifter March by Henry Fillmore because we know a lot of you like the marches and we’re cool with that. Also, our faces are melting off by the end of a concert day, so a march is pretty much the only thing we can play by then. Also again, we want you to come back for the January concert, so we programmed something normal for you to happily hum on your way home.
My college music history professor once told me if I didn’t stop talking in class, he’d put me in the corner with a dunce cap on my head. I’m pretty sure if he saw this article, he’d put me in the corner with a dunce cap while also wearing a bat costume. But for real, folks, if you want to see the actual program notes written by the guys with a heckuva lot more musical experience than this chump writer, turn out for our concert on Saturday Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at Corbet Theatre on the Centralia College campus. Tickets are $12 general admission; students are free with paying adult.
Hope to see you there, Franji Mayes NWWS Secretary
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that our conductors didn’t name the concert, when they in fact did name the concert, as listed in our April program. I extend a hearty “thank you” to one of our past board members for pointing this out!
On Saturday, April 22, 2023, the NW Wind Symphony presents “Celebrate la Primavera – Spring!” a concert of lively, energetic, modern music.
The evening begins with Celebrations, a show-stopping fanfare by John Zdechlik. Grace by Brian Balmages wanders between solos as it evolves into the hymn tune “Amazing Grace.” Edward Gregson’s Celebration features each section of the band with virtuosic passages.
The second half opens with Stephen Melillo’s Godspeed featuring percussion. Pineapple Poll by Sir Charles Mackaras captures songs by Gilbert and Sullivan. Stephen Bulla’s Bond…James Bond closes the evening’s program with a nod to the silver screen’s most famous secret agent.
This show starts at 7 p.m. at Corbet Theatre on the Centralia College campus. Get tickets now for $12 (general admission) at Book ‘n’ Brush in Chehalis, or at the door the night of the event.
On Saturday, January 21, 2023, the NW Wind Symphony presents a concert of classical and movie music, all by composers named Williams.
John Williams might be the most well-known composer on the evening’s program. Listeners will enjoy music from movies like Star Wars, Raiders, Cowboys, and The Terminal.
Ralph Vaughan Williams was “not only a composer of the utmost importance for English music but also one of the great symphonists of the 20th century,” according to the R.V.W. Society. The evening’s program includes one of his most well-known pieces, English Folksong Suite. Also on the program are Flourish for Wind Band and Sea Songs.
Clifton Williams initially focused on orchestra music, but was later encouraged to compose for wind band also, which is what he’s perhaps better known for. The night’s program includes his Symphonic Dance No. 5 and Post War Prelude.
This show starts at 7 p.m. at Corbet Theatre on the Centralia College campus. Get tickets for $12 (general admission) now at Book ‘n’ Brush in Chehalis, or at the door the night of the event.
