I want to welcome everyone to another season of great music-making with the Montgomery Village Community Band. I look forward to serving again as president. More importantly, I'm thrilled that we will continue to have the pleasure to play under the baton of Dr. Gordon Bowie and assistant conductor Len Morse.
And now I would like to continue a feature from my previous articles - presenting interesting facts about the music we're working on:
And now I would like to continue a feature from my previous articles - presenting interesting facts about the music we're working on:
- Frank Hoyt Losey (1872-1931), composer of "Loose Lucas", created more than 2,500 band arrangements, some of which were for the Edison Phonograph Co. and Henry Ford's personal orchestra. Losey wrote over 400 original compositions.
- Henry Fillmore's "Light Cavalry Overture" band arrangement is based on "Leichte Kavallerie", an operetta in three acts by Franz von Suppe. The operetta was first performed in Vienna in 1866. The work is set in the 18th century, and involves the court intrigues of the Baron and his Hungarian Countess lover, whose ballet company is referred to as the "light cavalry."
- "Broadway One-Step" by Karl King was composed for clowns performing at the circus.
- "Army of the Nile" by Kenneth Alford was inspired by the success of the English army in Africa during World War II.
- "Albanian March" was written during R.B. Hall's time with Albany, New York's Tenth Regiment Band, which Hall directed in 1895.
- "All Glory Told" by James Swearingen was commissioned by the Friends and Alumni of Attica High School, Seneca East High School and Willard First United Methodist Church to honor the memory of long time area music director, Milton A. Shank. The work received its premiere performance in 1994 in Attica, Ohio.
