WASHINGTON -- Grab your popcorn and enjoy the show as the Marine Band performs a concert “May the 4th Be With You: Marine Band at the Movies.” The performance will take place at 2 p.m. on May 4 at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria, Virginia. The concert is free and open to the public.
Program and Notes
Taking place on Star Wars Day, the program will feature John Williams’ Star Wars Suite–which includes Imperial March, themes for Leia, Yoda and Cantina Band–as well as his Suite from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Also included in the program are Spirited Away, the titular piece from the popular Hayao Miyazaki animated film, “Gabriel’s Oboe” from The Mission, and Richard A. Whiting’s “Hooray for Hollywood.” “Gabriel’s Oboe” features oboe player and soloist Gunnery Sgt. Tessa Gross. She said of the piece:
It has always held a special place for me. It was my encore piece during our 2019 West Coast tour, which included a stop in my hometown of Santa Monica—a tour I’ll always remember. Morricone’s music from The Mission is beautifully understated, and its simplicity allows for a real connection with the audience. It’s a piece that speaks clearly and honestly, which is what makes it so powerful for me to perform.
The other soloist on the program will be Marine Band vocalist Master Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Bennear. Bennear opens the concert singing lead on “Hooray for Hollywood,” which includes quotes from Irving Berlin’s “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz’s “That’s Entertainment.”
“The Band took this piece on the road for our most recent West Coast Tour where we were playing near Hollywood,” Bennear said. “We feel like this number is a journey through movies. It’s a walk through time that will hopefully remind everyone of movies they’ve seen and memories attached to those. This piece, along with the rest of the program, should give our audience an afternoon of wonderful, cinema-based entertainment.”