The second concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, June 17, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

The June 17 concert repertoire will be:

Warrior Legacy by Soon Hee Newbold

On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss by David Holsinger

The Thunderer March by John Philip Sousa

Folk Suite by William Grant Still

Spring by Johan de Meij

Blue Moon by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

El Condor Pasa by Daniel Robles

Quad City Stomp by Michael Sweeney

America, the Beautiful arr. Warren Barker

Guest soloist on the June 17 concert will be Anne Marie Bice, voice professor from Valparaiso University. Ms. Bice has extensive performance experience and sings in a wide variety of styles. Prof. Bice will sing music by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and Dutch composer Johan de Meij.

Since last week, we learned that another long-serving member of the Michigan City Municipal Band died since our 2019 season. Norm Jones played tuba in the band for many years, and also served as the band’s secretary/treasurer. The MCMB’s June 17 performance of On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss will be played in honor of Norm. The text for the hymn includes the line “It is well with my soul.”

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The Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will begin its 153^rd season on Thursday, June 10, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

The MCMB 153^rd Season will consist of ten free Thursday concerts, beginning June 10, and ending August 12. All concerts begin at 7:30p and last about an hour. The band plays a wide variety of music, with concerts designed to entertain audience members of all ages.

The June 10 concert repertoire will be:

Dedicatory Overture by Clifton Williams

Air for Band by Frank Erickson

Credo by William Owens

Washington Post March by John Philip Sousa

Stitches in Time: A Second Piece (premiere) by Meredith Brammeier

Mexican Hat Dance by Felipe A. Partichela

Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, arr. Michael Brown

Whip and Spur Galop by Fred S. Allen, arr. Ray Cramer

My America arr. Joyce Eilers

Beau Monde (premiere) by Jack Stamp

Dedicatory Overture is being played in honor of those who have lost their lives since the MCMB last performed in 2019, including former band members Steve Hornyak, Bud Westphal, Dr. Charles Janovsky, and Michael Boo. By playing specific favorites of each musician, later in the season, these gentlemen will be honored individually.

Stitches in Time: A Second Piece is the MCMB’s 2020 commission. The three-movement composition is based on quilt patterns. Composer Meredith Brammeier teaches at California Polytechnical Institute in San Luis Obispo, and earned degrees from the University of Southern California, Eastman School of Music, and Princeton University.

Beau Monde is the MCMB’s 2021 commission. It is an exciting and creative adaptation of the famous hymn For the Beauty of the Earth. Dr. Jack Stamp, the composer, served for many years at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is also the founder and conductor of a professional concert band called Keystone Winds. In retirement, Dr. Stamp is teaching at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

To help keep musicians and audience members safe, band members will follow strict safety protocols, including bell covers on woodwind and brass instruments, physical distancing, and masks.

All of the concerts are free, and everyone is welcome. School band members and young children are especially encouraged to attend. Parking on Lake Shore Drive is prohibited. Parking is available in the lots closest to the amphitheater, as well as the Senior Center. Entrance to the park is free with a Michigan City Park sticker; otherwise, there is a parking fee.

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Due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 concert series of the Michigan City Municipal Band has been canceled.

The decision was based on health considerations for the band members. We do not want to put anyone’s health at risk.

We measured the performance space in the amphitheater. Following general physical distancing guidelines of at least six feet between people, we would only be able fit about half the band on the stage. (Experts on aerosols are suggesting that nine to fifteen feet between musicians would be safer.)

Throughout the pandemic, we have been researching safe practices for musicians and audiences. It would not be difficult for our Washington Park audiences to stay safe, as long as they adhered to physical distancing. Unfortunately, none of the papers, commentaries, or videos released thus far about the aerosol distribution from musical instruments is based on peer-reviewed scientific study. Fortunately, more than 85 professional music associations are collaborating to fund empirical research that will be undertaken at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Maryland. Colorado State University is planning a similar inquiry. These studies will commence soon, with Phase One data (individual instruments) ready for initial review in July. Phase Two (instruments in rehearsal rooms and performance spaces) will take place this fall.

The Michigan City Municipal Band wishes everyone a happy, safe, and healthy summer. We look forward to the 2021 concert series, which will be our 153^rd season. We expect our first concert in 2021 to be Thursday, June 10.

The tenth and final concert of the 151st season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will take place Thursday, August 8, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

Guest vocal soloist on the August 8 concert will be Tim King, who will sing music from Les Miserables and Titanic. Mr. King has soloed with more than 150 professional ensembles throughout the country. The Santa Barbara CASA Magazine commended Mr. King: “Championing a silken voice, Mr. King…soared through…Maria from West Side Story, delighting further, a now wildly enthusiastic audience….ravishing voice.”

Also performing and soloing with the band will be Staff Sergeant Hiram Diaz, euphonium, from the United States Marine Band, “The President’s Own. The Marine Band bio on SSgt Dias can be found here.  SSgt Dias has degrees from the New World School of the Arts in Miama, and the University of Cincinnati College Concervatory of Music, and was a featured soloist on the United States Marine Band 2016 national tour.  We’ll feature SSgt Diaz on the famous Napoli Variations by Herman Bellstedt. For an encore, we’ll feature the euphonium section and the woodwind section on the dazzling Melody Shop March by Karl King.

We’ll hear our commissioned work, Sesenta, by award-winning composer Quincy Hilliard, and we’ll honor the legacy of long-time conductor Guy Foreman with Dr. Foreman’s composition Singing Sands Overture.

The Michigan City Municipal Band August 8 concert repertoire will be:

The Star-Spangled Banner
Singing Sands Overture by Guy Foreman
Bring Him Home from Les Miserables
My Heart Will Go On from Titanic
Light Cavalry Overture by Franz von Suppe
A Hymn of Peace by Daniel Chisam
Napoli Variations by Herman Bellstedt
The Melody Shop by Karl King
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood by Fred Rogers
Sesenta by Quincy Hilliard
Patriotic sing along: God Bless America

Our tradition is to invite the audience to sing with the band at the beginning and ending of each concert. After the opening fanfare, the audience will sing along on The Star-Spangled Banner. Each concert ends with a familiar patriotic selection for the audience to sing.

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The seventh concert of the 151st season of the Michigan City Municipal Band will take place Thursday, July 18, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park. The band plays a variety of music designed to entertain audience members of all ages. All concerts are free and everyone is welcome. Jeffrey Scott Doebler is the conductor for the MCMB and Quincy Ford is the assistant conductor. Dr. Doebler serves as director of music education at Valparaiso University. Mr. Ford,principal saxophone in the MCMB, is retired director of bands from Michigan City High School. Assitant conductor Quincy Ford will lead the band this week.
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