Raritan Valley Symphonic Band Spring Concert “A Musical Potpourri”

Raritan Valley Symphonic Band Spring Concert “A Musical Potpourri” Sunday April 27 @ 3 pm – Bridgewater-Raritan High School – Free Admission The Raritan Valley Symphonic Band presents its annual Spring concert, “A Musical Potpourri” on Sunday April 27 at 3 PM. Under the direction of Music Director William Berz, the concert will be held at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, 600 Garretson Road, Bridgewater, NJ. Admission is free! Director Berz described the theme as “a grouping of pieces for band, both old and new: A Musical Potpourri. While the word “potpourri” often refers to a mixture of dried flower petals and spices to perfume clothing or a room, it can more broadly mean a miscellaneous collection or medley of things”. The concert begins with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Flourish for Wind Band”, composed in 1939 as the opening to the pageant “Music and the People” held in Royal Albert Hall in London. It was subsequently lost, only to be rediscovered and finally published in 1971. Opening with a simple brass fanfare, the work gives way to a lyrical melody before returning to the fanfare at the end of the piece. Often considered the dean of African American classical composers in America, William Grant Still achieved many firsts as a black classical musician during his distinguished career. “From the Delta” was composed in 1945 for the Goldman Band of New York City. Its three movements capture the essence of what life was like on the Mississippi Delta, Still’s home state. Shelly Hanson’s “Elegy for Albinoni” is a memorial peace honoring the prolific but rarely performed Baroque-era composer Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751). Hanson uses two Albinoni themes in alternation, in fragments, or simultaneously throughout the piece. The first half concludes with another classic by Ralph Vaughan Willams. Composed in 1923, “Sea Songs” is a medley of three songs: Princess Royal, Admiral Benbow, and Portsmouth. Following intermission, Clare Grundman’s “Fantasy on American Sailing Songs” is a lively and robust medley of sailing songs, including Hornet and Peacock, Lowlands: What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor? and Rio Grande. English composer Gustav Holst’s The Planets is a popular seven-movement suite for orchestra composed between 1914 and 1917 for each of the non-Earth planets. RVSB will perform a George Smith transcription of the first movement: “Mars, the Bringer of War”. Composed in a 5/4 meter (5 beats to each measure), Mars characterizes the brutal horrors of war with trumpet calls, military rhythms, and clashing harmonies marching straight into battle. In contrast, “Forward/Still” is a new composition (2023) by Omar Thomas that is highly reflective with jazz elements. The first half presents a hymn that is saturated with weight and burden, giving way to a soaring effort, seeking to resume the fight towards progress, safety, and collective humanity. The piece eases into an ending with unsettling echoes of the original hymn and a return to the first chord which brings comfort and resolution yet ends with a feeling of uncertainty. Omar Thomas states that “regardless how heavy, burdened, and hopeless we feel, we must move forward, still.” The program concludes with Selections from “Wicked”, the popular Broadway musical and film with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. This melody includes No One Mourns the Wicked, The Wizard and I, Dancing Through Life, For Good, and Defying Gravity. RVSB comprises about 70 musicians from the northern and central New Jersey area. Band membership includes professional musicians and music educators, as well as amateur musicians ranging in age from high school through retirees. Music Director William Berz is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University where he served on the faculty for 42 years and was Director of the Music department for 11 years. This concert is funded, in part, by a grant from the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission. For more information about the band please visit www.rvsb.org.

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Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2986365-0

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