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Summer Fare Features American Marches, Clarinet Showpiece, and Cole Porter Tunes

23 Jun 2014 | Staff Sgt. Brian Rust United States Marine Band

The Marine Band’s Summer Fare continues this week under the baton of Assistant Director Maj. Jason K. Fettig with performances at 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 25, and Thursday, June 26, on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol. Bookended by marches by American composers John Philip Sousa and Russell Alexander, the concert will also feature several orchestral transcriptions, a clarinet solo showpiece, and a medley of Cole Porter tunes. The evening performances are free and no tickets are required.

 

The concert will begin with an early Sousa march, “Resumption,” composed in 1879, one year before Sousa became Director of the Marine Band. The march celebrated the resumption of the use of gold and silver coins after post-Civil War economic instability. Following the march, the band will perform Master Sgt. Donald Patterson’s transcription of Portsmouth Point Overture by Sir William Walton and Paul Gogel’s transcription of Andre Messager’s “Solo de Concours” featuring clarinet soloist Staff Sgt. Meaghan Kawaller. “Solo de Concours” means “Contest Piece” and was commissioned by the Paris Conservatory in 1899 as a test piece for its students. Now a staple in the solo clarinet repertoire, the showpiece emphasizes tonal control and technical brilliance.

 

Another highlight of the evening’s concert is former Marine Band chief arranger Stephen Bulla’s arrangement Cole Porter Songbook, featuring mezzo-soprano Gunnery Sgt. Sara Dell’Omo singing a medley of popular Cole Porter tunes such as “It’s De-Lovely,” “Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye,” and “You’re the Top.”

 

The program will also include three more selections by American composers: John Barnes Chance’s Incantation and Dance; Frank Bencriscutto’s transcription of “Profanation” from Leonard Bernstein’s first symphony, Jeremiah; and Russell Alexander’s march, “Rival Rovers,” written while Alexander toured with the popular circus Barnum and Baily’s Greatest Show on Earth.

 

Complete Program and Notes

 

Inclement weather announcements will be made after 6 p.m. on the Marine Band Concert Information Line at (202) 433-4011. For more information, please visit www.marineband.marines.mil.