The third concert of the 157th season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will take place during the Michigan City Juneteenth Celebration. The MCMB will perform Thursday, June 19, 4:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park. Please note the earlier-than-usual concert time. All other MCMB concerts at the amphitheater begin at 7:30p.
Guest artist will be Michigan City poetess Carnessa Carnes.
The June 19 concert repertoire will be:
March: The Governor’s Own by Alton Adams
Ballad on “Balm in Gilead” from American Hymnsong Suite by Dwayne Milburn
Remembering Naomi by Dan Schaaf, Narrated by Carnessa Carnes
The Entertainer by Scott Joplin
Ellington: A Tribute to the Duke arr. Larry Kirchner
Soul Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones
Tribute to Louis Armstrong arr. John Edmondson
Sing-along: Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
The Michigan City Municipal Band is thrilled to be part of the full day of Juneteenth performances in Washington Park! The day’s events at the amphitheater begin at noon, and conclude with a 7:00 concert by The Reggie Foster Experience jazz ensemble.
The MCMB concert will include a reprise of the band’s 2024 premiere performance of Remembering Naomi by Dan Schaaf, and narrated by Carnessa Carnes. Remembering Naomi uses music, historical narrative, and the words of Naomi Anderson to tell the story of Michigan City’s important suffragist. Mr. Schaaf is the founder of Sudden Productions. For almost 25 years, his music, videos, and music theatre works have been acclaimed in performances throughout Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and New York. The commissioned arranger for Remembering Naomi is Alexander Keim, a LaPorte native and Valparaiso University graduate. Narrator Carnessa Carnes lives in Michigan City. She serves as a poetry workshop facilitator, and is the creator of Bless the Mic Open Mic Show.
Alton Adams was a youth band leader in the Virgin Islands, who became the first black bandmaster in the US Navy. When the USA entered World War I, he and his band were inducted into the Navy. The Governor’s Own is an exciting march in the style of John Philip Sousa.
Dr. Dwayne Milburn teaches at UCLA, and is also a church musician. Major Wilburn served in the US Army Band program for 20 years. The MCMB will play a beautiful setting of the spiritual There is a Balm in Gilead from Dr. Milburn’s American Hymnsong Suite.
Audience members will recognize the ragtime classic The Entertainer by Scott Joplin—made popular again in the film The Sting—and songs like Hello Dolly, When the Saints Go Marching In, In a Sentimental Mood, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, and others from medleys of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
Soul Bossa Nova was released in 1962 by American music icon, Quincy Jones. Contemporary listeners know Soul Bossa Nova as the theme from Mike Myers’s film franchise Austin Powers, a parody of James Bond movies.
Continuing its tradition of concluding each concert with a patriotic audience sing-along, the Michigan City Municipal Band will close with Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson.
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 ($8 for buses) 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.