Mercer County Symphonic Band will present an assortment of contemporary American compositions for band, familiar favorites, and patriotic selections at its annual spring concert on Wednesday, May 15, at 8 p.m., at Kelsey Theater in West Windsor. Admission is free.
West Windsor and Plainsboro musicians include Dave Halter on trombone, Martin Timins on alto sax, Anthony Travaglione on clarinet, Mike Davis on percussion, and John Roeder on tuba. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School alumni include Jim Yeh, Class of 1997, on tuba; and Birgitta Cagan, Class of 1990, on clarinet. Flute players Jessica Julius, Danielle Guarracino, and Annette Sheldon live in West Windsor. Tony Pappalardo, the retired High School South band director, is on trumpet.
The band, under the direction of Louis Woodruff, presents an eclectic performance of classics, popular music, and marches. The contemporary American compositions include Claude T. Smith’s “Santiago Carnival,” Robert Sheldon’s “Rhapsodic Celebration,” Robert Washburn’s “Ode for Band,” and Joseph Wilcox Jenkins’s “American Overture for Band.” Among the familiar favorites are Ferde Grofe’s “On the Trail,” the allegro from Gioacchimo Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” the allegros from Franz von Suppe’s “Light Cavalry Overture” and “Poet and Peasant Overture,” and Alfred Reed’s arrangement of “Autumn Leaves.” The patriotic selections include E. E. Begley’s “National Emblem March,” Henry Fillmore’s “Americans We,” John Philip Sousa’s “Black Horse Troop,” the “George M. Cohan Patriotic Fantasy,” and the band’s signature signoff, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
The band, in its 32nd year, is open to all area musicians without audition. Participation is free. Performances are at Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College graduation ceremony, community events, holiday celebrations, and other venues open to the public.
Spring Concert, Mercer County Symphonic Band, Mercer County College, Kelsey Theater. Wednesday, May 15, 8 p.m. Free. 609-584-9444. www.mercerband.com.
