Author Archives: Jonathan Plant

Thursday, July 21, 2022 Concert

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The seventh concert of the 154th season of the Michigan City Municipal (MCMB) will be held on Thursday, July 21, 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 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 and music department chairperson at Michigan City High School. Quincy Ford will lead the band this week.

The July 21 concert repertoire will include:

El Capitan by John Philip Sousa
Moorside March by Gustav Holst arr. Gordon Jacob
Rhapsody on a French Hymn by David Gorham
Dry Your Tears, Afrika by John Williams arr. Paul Lavender
Slippery Joe (Trombone Trio w/band) by Joe Bennett arr. Art Dedrick
The Sound of Music by Rogers and Hammerstein arr. Robert R. Bennett
Themes Like Old Times arr. Warren Barker
Danger Zone by Moroder & Whitlock arr. Michael Story
March “the Southerner” by Russell Alexander arr. Glenn Cliff Bainum
This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie arr. John Warrington

Our tradition of inviting the audience to sing at the beginning and ending of each concert will continue. After the opening fanfare, the audience will sing along on the Star-Spangled Banner. Each concert ends with a familiar patriotic song for the audience to sing. The lyrics to each song are posted on the MCMB’s Facebook page and can be accessed on your smartphone.

The MCMB 154th season consists of ten free Thursday concerts, ending August 11. All concerts begin at 7:30p and last about an hour. Parking is available in the lots closest to the amphitheater, as well as the Michigan City Senior Center. Entrance to the park is free with a Michigan City Park sticker, otherwise there is a small parking fee.

Rick Carlson, principal trumpet for MCMB, will be the announcer.

Premiere of New Work for Wind Band, Thursday July 14, 2022

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Premiere of New Work for WIND BAND

<The following was originally written for composer Jesse Ayers website, reposted here by permission>

We are excited to announce the premiere of our latest work for wind band, WHERE THE STORMY WINDS BLOW, Thursday, July 14, by the Michigan City Municipal Band (Indiana), conducted by Dr. Jeffery Scott Doebler, with Richard AmRhein, narrating/singing.

The 14-minute “concert story” tells the true story of an 1873 shipwreck that occurred on Lake Michigan between Beaver Island and Traverse City, told first-hand through the actual words of the son of the story’s principal character. The son’s oral account was found on a 1937 field recording housed at the Library of Congress.

In addition to the spoken narration, the narrator also sings several verses, interspersed throughout the work, of a Lake Michigan sea shanty known as “The Gallagher Boys,” a ballad about this same incident, composed by a Beaver Island songster who personally knew all involved. The shanty was obtained from the same 1937 field recordings, sung by the aforementioned son. Much of the music in the Ayers’ composition is based on motives drawn from the shanty’s tune.

The audience also participates in the work by singing, at various times throughout the work, the refrain line of the shanty, “For to sail o’er Lake Michigan where the stormy winds blow.”

This work was commissioned by the historic Michigan City Municipal Band, now in its 154th season, and is the latest in a series of commissions by the band to foster the creation of new repertoire.

Ayers and Doebler have collaborated numerous times over the past 23 years, and have a close working relationship that has resulted in strong, well-received performances. Doebler has conducted all of Ayers’ works for wind band several times each, and premiered many of them.
The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park, Michigan City, IN. Admission is free. There may be fee for parking at the park.

Thursday, August 1, 2019, Concert

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The ninth concert of the 151st season of the Michigan City Municipal Band (MCMB) will take place Thursday, August 1, 7:30p, at the Guy F. Foreman Bicentennial Amphitheater in Washington Park.

Guest soloist on the August 1 concert will be Anne 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 from Les Miserables and from Led Zeppelin.

The Michigan City Municipal Band August 1 concert repertoire will be:Continue reading→