The Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will begin its 154th season on Thursday, June 9, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

The MCMB 154th season will consist of ten free Thursday concerts, beginning June 9, and ending August 11. 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 MCMB also plays for the annual Memorial Day ceremony at Greenwood Cemetery, and in the Michigan City Patriotic Parade.

Highlights of the summer concert series include special guest soloists and two commissions by award-winning composers. Soloists will be GySgt. Hiram Diaz, euphonium, from the US Marine Band (July 28); Dr. George Wolfe, saxophone (June 23); Anne Marie Bice, soprano (June 16 and 30); and Rick AmRhein, baritone/narrator (July 14). Additional soloists may be announced later in the season.

The world premiere of Where the Stormy Winds Blow by Dr. Jesse Ayers will take place on July 14. The work is based on a true story, recorded in the Library of Congress, about a Lake Michigan shipwreck with a triumphal ending. Rick AmRhein will serve as narrator and baritone soloist, and the audience will be invited to sing along on a Lake Michigan sea shanty. On July 28, the Concerto for Euphonium and Band by Tom Davoren will showcase the band with world-class euphonium soloist GySgt. Hiram Diaz, in three beautiful and dazzling movements.

The June 9 concert repertoire will be:

Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland
Sinatra in Concert arr. Jerry Nowak
A Hymn of Peace by Daniel Chisham
Heartbeat Song by Kelly Clarkson
Grandmother Song by Brent Michael Davids
Don’t Stop Me Now by Freddie Mercury
Who’s That Masked Man? by Jay Bocook
Prayer for Ukraine by Mykola Lysenko
How Far I’ll Go by Lin-Manuel Miranda
America, the Beautiful arr. Warren Barker

The band’s two opening numbers honor the late Bruce Fischer, who played percussion in the MCMB for several decades. Fanfare for the Common Man is the instantly-recognized composition by Aaron Copland that was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during World War II. Sinatra in Concert features some of the most famous songs of “Old Blue Eyes”, including New York, New York; It Was a Very Good Year; The Lady is a Tramp; and My Way.Continue reading→

The tenth and final concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, August 12, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

The August 12 concert repertoire will be:

Stitches in Time: A Second Piece by Meredith Brammeier
Old Town Road by Lil Nas X
The Belle of Chicago March by John Philip Sousa
Highlights from Frozen II by Kristen and Robert Lopez
Irish Tune from County Derry by Percy Grainger
Shepherd’s Hey by Percy Grainger
Too Young by Sidney Lippman and Sylvia Dee
Beau Monde by Jack Stamp
God Bless America by Irving Berlin
The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa

Stitches in Time: A Second Piece was the MCMB’s 2020 commission. Composer Meredith Brammeier created each movement as her interpretation of quilting patterns.

Old Town Road, by rapper Lil Nas X, was the winner of two Grammy Awards in 2020. At 19 weeks, the song holds the record of staying number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

John Philip Sousa composed The Belle of Chicago in 1892, and he dedicated it to the “Ladies of Chicago.” The march was finished just before he completed his 12-year tenure as conductor of the US Marine Band. He spent the next 40 years touring with his own professional band. Among the Sousa Band’s first successes was playing for the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, where the band was sometimes acclaimed as the “World’s Fair Band.”

Highlights from Frozen II, by Kristen and Robert Lopez, contains the following songs:

Vuelie, All is Found, Some Things Never Change, Into the Unknown, Lost in the Woods, and Show Yourself.

Born in Australia, Percy Grainger was known as an innovative composer, virtuoso pianist, and folk music researcher & arranger, as well as one of the first to use the phonograph in the collection of folk songs. The MCMB will play two of Mr. Grainger’s folk song settings. First is Irish Tune from County Derry, which we all recognize as Danny Boy. Second is a Morris dance called Shepherd’s Hey.

In 1952, Nat King Cole topped the Billboard charts for five weeks with Too Young, a song by Sidney Lippman and Sylvia Dee.

Beau Monde is the MCMB’s 2021 commission. It is an exciting and creative adaptation of the well-known 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.

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The ninth concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, August 5, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park. Guest soloist 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 George and Ira Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael.

The August 5 concert repertoire will be:

Radetsky March by Johann Strauss, Jr.
Florentiner March by Julius Fucik
‘S Wonderful by George and Ira Gershwin
Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael
Scarf Dance by Cecile Chaminade
My America arr. Joyce Eilers
St. Louis Blues by WC Handy
La Fiesta Mexicana (excerpt) by H.Owen Reed

Radetsky March and Florentiner March were favorites of the late Dr. Charles Janovsky. “Dr. J” played clarinet in the Michigan City Municipal Band for 39 years, and the band is honoring him by playing these two selections. In addition to Dr. Janovsky, the Michigan City Municipal Band has recently honored four other long-serving band members who died since the band’s 2019 season: Michael Boo, Steve Hornyak, Norm Jones, and Bud Westphal.

George and Ira Gershwin composed ‘s Wonderful in 1927 for the musical Funny Face. Performed and recorded by countless artists over years, the song was also used in the 1951 film, An American in Paris.

Also composed in 1927, Stardust is a classic by Indiana’s own Hoagy Carmichael. Recorded at least 1500 times, Stardust entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1995, and the National Recording Registry in 2004.

Cecile Chaminade (1857-1944) was an acclaimed French composer and pianist, the first female awarded the Legion d’Honneur. Ms. Chaminade toured the USA in 1908, and one of her most popular compositions was Scarf Dance.

My America is Joyce Eilers’ lovely setting of America, which we all know as My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” Mrs. Eilers earned degrees from Oklahoma City University and the University of Oregon. She was a school music teacher for many years, and also taught at Pacific Lutheran University. Mrs. Eilers was well-respected for her hundreds of choral compositions and arrangements, her sight-singing methods, and her mentorship of young composers.

W.C. Handy dubbed himself the “Father of the Blues.” An important American songwriter, Mr. Handy was one of the first publishers of blues music. Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993, St. Louis Blues was inspired by Mr. Handy’s meeting of a distraught woman in St. Louis.

Composer H. Owen Reed (1910-2014) taught at Michigan State University for nearly 40 years. La Fiesta Mexicana is Dr. Reed’s impression of a Mexican fiesta.

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The eighth concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, July 29, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

The July 29 concert repertoire will be:

The Free Lance March by John Philip Sousa
Original Dixieland Concerto by John Warrington
Beau Monde by Jack Stamp
Summit by Kevin Day
The Bonsai Tree by Julie Giroux
Il Guarani Overture (excerpt) by Antonio Gomez
Sesame Street Celebration arr. Michael Brown
From Sea to Shining Sea by Maurice Whitney

In addition to over 130 marches, Mr. Sousa composed many other types of music, including several popular operettas. Several of his marches were extracted from the operettas, including The Free Lance. The story of the operetta reads like a soap opera, with the bankrupt kingdoms of Braggadocia and Graftiana trying to steal from each other.

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The seventh concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held on Thursday, July 22, 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. Assistant conductor Quincy Ford will lead the band this week.

The July 22 concert repertoire will include:

Semper Fidelis by John Philip Sousa
The Marriage of Figaro Overture by W. A. Mozart arr. Earl Slocum
Sea Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Hebrides Suite by Clare Grundman
Balladair by Frank Erickson
Funiculi Funicula by Luigi Denza arr. Philip J. Lang
The Lion King Soundtrack Highlights arr. Calvin Custer
Tritsch-Tratsch Polka by Johann Strauss arr. Alfred Reed
Bugler’s Dream by Leo Arnaud
Hands Across the Sea by John Philip Sousa
A Patriotic Festival arr. Mark Williams
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The sixth concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, July 15, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park. Special guest soloist will be Gunnery Sergeant Hiram Diaz from the US Marine Band in Washington, DC, “The President’s Own,” playing euphonium. (The euphonium is sometimes called a baritone, and it looks like a small tuba.)

The July 15 concert repertoire will be:

Oblivion by Astor Piazzola
Mesto by Tom Davoren
Premiere performance
GySgt. Hiram Diaz, US Marine Band, euphonium soloist
Use Me by Bill Withers
Lean on Me by Bill Withers
Rippling Watercolors by Brian Balmages
The Fairest of the Fair March by John Philip Sousa
Nabucco Overture by Giuseppe Verdi
God Bless America by Irving Berlin

Gunnery Sergeant Hiram Diaz grew up in Miami. He graduated from Miami’s New World School of the Arts, then earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He joined the US Marine Band, “The President’s Own,” in 2012. He is co-leader of the Marine Band’s Latin Jazz Ensemble.

GySgt. Diaz will be playing Mesto, the third movement from Concerto for Euphonium and Band by award-winning composer Tom Davoren. The Michigan City Municipal Band is commissioning Mr. Davoren to write this four-movement composition. We’ll play the entire concerto here with GySgt. Diaz next summer.

Astor Piazzolla is an Argentine composer who has been called “the most important interpreter of the modern tango.” Mr. Piazzolla wrote the tango Oblivion for the 1984 movie Henry IV.

One of the popular musical artists the world has lost during the pandemic was Bill Withers. We’ll remember Mr. Withers with two of his biggest hits: Use Me, and what became one of the anthems of the pandemic, Lean on Me.

Brian Balmages is the director of instrumental publications for FJH Music Company. He is a remarkably creative composer who has written for bands at all levels. Rippling Watercolors is a beautiful selection that shows off the gorgeous tone colors of the concert band.

The Sousa Band was often contracted to play for major fairs and expositions. Promoters knew that the Sousa Band was so popular and musically successful that their event would turn a profit when the Sousa Band was in residence. Such was the case with the Boston Food Fair of 1908, for which The Fairest of the Fair was composed. In addition to standard Sousa compositional techniques, many of the musical lines sound like roller coasters, moving up and down.

The Giuseppe Verdi opera, Nabucco, premiered at La Scala in 1842. It is considered the opera that solidified Verdi’s reputation as a world-class composer. The story follows the plight of the people assaulted by the Babylonian King Nabucco.

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The fifth concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, July 8, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park. In honor of Independence Day, many of the compositions will be patriotic.

The July 8 concert repertoire will be:

Esprit de Corps by Robert Janet
Emperata Overtute by Claude Smith
The Ragtime Drummer by James Lent
Block M March by Jerry Bilik
An Irish Rhapsody by Clare Grundman
Big Band Favorites by Robert Lowden
Manhattan Beach March by John Philip Sousa
Pop and Rock Legends: Chicago
More Cowbell! arr. Michael Brown
You’ve Got Friend in Me by Randy Newman

At this concert, the band will remember the late Steve Hornyak, who served as band president for over 50 years.

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The fourth concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, July 1, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park. In honor of Independence Day, many of the compositions will be patriotic.

The July 1 concert repertoire will be:

America, the Beautiful arr. Carmen Dragon
El Relicario by Jose Padilla
Hello Dolly by Jerry Herman
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood arr. Paul Murtha
National Emblem March by E. E. Bagley
The Best of Carole King arr. Johnnie Vinson
This is My Country by Don Raye and Al Jacobs
Highlights from Sophisticated Ladies by Duke Ellington
March for Peace by Edwin Franko Goldman
The Stars and Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa

Even if they don’t know the titles, audience members will recognize the melodies from all of the music, including medleys from Hello Dolly, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Carole King, and Duke Ellington.

This will be an especially nice week to celebrate families and celebrate the United States of America!

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The third concert of the 153rd season of the Michigan City Municipal Band will be held Thursday, June 24, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

The June 24 concert repertoire will be:

On Wings of Flight by Michael Boo
Mountains in the Mist by Michael Boo
Three Dances by Florence Price
Gentle Annie by Stephen Foster
Another Op’nin’ Another Show by Cole Porter
The Rhythm Stand by Jennifer Higdon
Peace by Frank Ticheli
Bolero Espanol by Ernesto Lecuona
George Washington Bicentennial March by John Philip Sousa
A Patriotic Festival arr. Mark Williams

Guest soloist on the June 24 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 Stephen Foster and Cole Porter.

Since the end of the 2019 MCMB season, five band members have died. Our plan is to honor each at a concert this summer. On June 17, we remembered long-time tuba player Norm Jones. This week, we will honor composer and percussionist Michael Boo.

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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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