The seventh concert of the 156th season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will be held Thursday, July 18, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.
The July 18 concert repertoire will be:
Bonnie Annie Laurie March by John Philip Sousa
A Hymn of Peace by Daniel Chisam
Annie Laurie Scottish Air
The Sound of Music by Ricahrd Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein
Big Band Favorites arr. Robert Lowden
O Ye That Love the Lord by Samuel Coleridge Taylor
America the Beautiful arr. Carmen Dragon
Selections from the Music Man by Meredith Willson
God Bless America by Irving Berlin
Special guest artist will be soprano soloist Lauren Hartman. Dr. Hartman serves at Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay, Florida, where she teaches choir for grades four through twelve. She holds three degrees in voice performance: University of Miami (D.M.A.), University of Northern Iowa (M.M.), and Simpson College (B.M.). Dr. Hartman is active as a professional vocalist and church musician (vocalist, pianist, children’s choir director). She has been a frequent vocal soloist with the Miami Sousa Band and Windiana Concert Band, including Windiana tours in China and Italy. In 2022, Dr. Hartman served as a guest conductor, vocalist, and pianist with Windiana at Carnegie Hall. This month, Dr. Hartman is in residence at Valparaiso University, serving as Operations Manager for Lutheran Summer Music, the national high school music academy and festival.
In addition to being outstanding performers, many of the Michigan City Municipal Band members are also successful conductors. On five concerts this season, conductors from within the band are being featured, each leading one composition. On July 18, the Honorable Kathleen Lang will conduct Carmen Dragon’s stirring arrangement of America, the Beautiful. Kathleen Lang serves Indiana as a Senior Judge. She is also an adjunct professor of law at the University of Notre Dame and Chicago-Kent College of Law. Judge Lang earned the Juris Doctor degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, and the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Northern Illinois University. In addition to the Michigan City Municipal Band, she plays horn in the LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra and Windiana Concert Band. She also plays bagpipes and alphorn!
We’re playing Big Band Favorites to honor active member trombonist Steve Watson for his 56 years of service to the Michigan City Municipal Band. The medley includes I’m Getting’ Sentimental Over You, Here’s that Rainy Day, Stompin’ at the Savoy, In the Mood, and Woodchopper’s Ball.
Another fun medley on the program will be Selections from the Music Man by Meredith Willson. This compilation contains The Wells Fargo Wagon, Lida Rose, Marian the Librarian, and Seventy-six Trombones.
The MCMB will continue its tradition of closing each concert with a patriotic audience sing-along. Irving Berlin’s God Bless America allows us to enthusiastically honor our great nation.
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 of $4 for the band concert.
Jeffrey Scott Doebler is the conductor for the MCMB, and Quincy Ford is the assistant conductor. Dr. Doebler serves as director of music education and bands at Valparaiso University. Mr. Ford, principal saxophone in the MCMB, is retired director of bands and music department chair from Michigan City High School.
The band’s announcer is Rick Carlson.