***CONCERT LOCATION CHANGE TONIGHT***
Due to forecasted inclement weather, the August 1 concert by the Michigan City Municipal Band will take place in the Michigan City High School Auditorium, 8466 W. Pahs Road. The concert will start at 7:30p CDT.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS
· Enter via Door “O”.
· Auditorium doors will open at approximately 6:30p.
· There is no admission charge for the concert.
BAND MEMBERS
· I will bring the music folders.
· I will bring the music notebooks.
· Enter via Door “O”.
· The band room in the amphitheater will not be open.
· Tune and Talk Through still happens at 7:20p.
· I will bring my portable sound system with extension cords for Allen Smith to use.
· I will do my best to have the stage set up for you when you arrive, including percussion.
· The following percussion will be provided by MCHS:
- 4 timpani
- bass drum
- xylophone
- marimba
- vibraphone
- chimes
- Orchestra bells
- suspended cymbal
- crash cymbals
- hi hat
- gong
· If there is other equipment you would like me to bring from the amphitheater, please let me know.
Thursday, August 1, 2024
The ninth 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. In case of inclement weather, the concert will take place in the Michigan City High School Auditorium, 8466 W. Pahs Road.
The concert will feature two premieres! Michigan City composer Dan Schaaf has written Remembering Naomi to honor Naomi Anderson, African-American suffragist and Michigan City native. Remembering Naomi will be narrated by Michigan City’s Carnessa Carnes.
On the same night, a new concerto by Dr. Kimberly Archer—titled Summer Nights at the Bandstand—will showcase the band with world-class euphonium soloist GySgt. Hiram Diaz, from the US Marine Band, “The President’s Own.”
The August 1 concert repertoire will be:
The Thunderer March by John Philip Sousa
Summer Nights at the Bandstand by Kimberly Archer
Hymn to the Dawn by Kimberly Archer
Blue Comet by Jorge Vargas
Prince in Concert arr. Paul Murtha
Pax by Catherine McMichael
Remembering Naomi by Dan Schaaf
George Washington Bicentennial March by John Philip Sousa
My America arr. Joyce Eilers
Remembering Naomi, by Michigan City composer Dan Schaaf, 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. Mr. Keim is a professional percussionist. He is a former music teacher, who now specializes in information technology. 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.
Dr. Kimberly Archer teaches at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Her compositions have been played around the world, including the most recent national tour of the US Coast Guard Band. In Summer Nights at the Bandstand, Dr. Archer has brought the virtuosic turn-of-the-twentieth-century solo tradition into the 21st century. Dr. Archer’s composition showcases the world-class musicianship of euphoniumist GySgt. Hiram Diaz, and also gives a nod to the Olympics.
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.
All of the Michigan City Municipal Band 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. (The $4 fee applies after 7:00p.)
Food trucks will be on site for the band concerts. Audience members are encouraged to patronize these local businesses.
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.
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!
Guest soprano soloist, Anne Marie Bice, will sing two meaningful and well-known songs: the popular Let There Be Peace on Earth and the haunting folksong Poor Wayfaring Stranger. Ms. Bice is a voice professor from Valparaiso University. She has extensive performance experience, sings in a wide variety of styles, and has been soloing with the Michigan City Municipal Band since 2015.