Join the VGCC Community Band for its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1 at McGregor Hall. Director Brian “Doc” Miller says the 40-plus member band will perform in the style of a good, old-fashioned band concert. And if you look closely, you may see an unusual percussion instrument that Miller himself will play for one selection.
The audience will be invited to sing along with a “nice and brisk” rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner, the band will continue with the state song of North Carolina, “The Old North State.”
Other selections include an overture from a movie called “The Cowboys,” Miller said on TownTalk. The movie was a dud, but composer John Williams’s music has endured. “It’s a great piece of music,” Miller said.
More along the tradition of the high school band concerts of yore are “In A Chinese Temple Garden” and a waltz called “Song of Love” from the 1921 musical “Blossom Time.”
Miller also will lead the band in another of what he calls a classic American march – the National Emblem March by E.E. Bagley, who composed the music in 1906.
And stay tuned for the concert finale, a piece originally created for the organ and transcribed for the band by UNC’s band director back in the 1920’s and ‘30’s.
“It’s a real barn burner,” Miller said. “It’s a technical challenge but I think the audience will enjoy it.”
That seems like a lot of music to pack into one hour, but that’s the goal, Miller said, remembering advice given long ago to always leave the audience wanting more, not wishing it were already over.
Will there be Sousa?
As long as Miller has a say, that answer will always be a resounding and emphatic Yes!
“Nothing beats a good old-fashioned Sousa march,” he said.
But what about that unusual percussion instrument?
It’s a typewriter – an Underwood Model 5 typewriter, to be precise – and it’s from Miller’s personal collection.
Miller will yield the baton to Sam Morgan to perform with the band in its performance of Leroy Anderson’s classic “The Typewriter,” which he composed in the 1920’s.
Want to join in the fun and play with the VGCC Community Band? It’s open to all. Call 252.738.3371 to learn more.