Southampton Concert Band begins a busy season

Southampton Concert Band has begun what it appears to be a busy summer for the musicians.

Director John Wills and Southampton Concert Band – for larger view, click on image

The band kicked off the season with its annual ‘Spring Concert’ on Sunday afternoon, June 14th (3:00 p.m.) at Saugeen Central School in Port Elgin.

With the theme ‘Song and Dance’, they performed a wide range of classic favourites by composers that included Aaron Copland, Freddie Mercury, Henry Mancini, Duke Elington and more.

The first selection, Appalachian Spring from the ballet of the same name, was written by Aaron Copland for renowned dancer-choregrapher Martha Graham. Throughout the suite, arranged by Robert Longfield,  the well-known melody ‘Tis a Gift to be Simple‘, keeps coming back.

From Appalachian Spring, the band moved on to play American Riversongs, a mambo tune, the famous Dizzy Eillispie’s ‘A Night in Tunisia’, the Pink Panther theme and many more.

The summer schedule continues for the Southampton Concert Band:

July 1st      Pioneer Park, Southampton  5:00PM-6:00PM
July 26th    Fairy Lake, Southampton. 7:00PM-8:30PM
July 28th    Lions Head Marina Park, Lions Head 7:00PM-8:00PM
August 8th  Dave Spencer Memorial Pavilion, Chesley 6:30PM-7:30PM