Knightwind Ensemble Announces a New Music Director

At their March 21st concert, the Knightwind Ensemble announced the appointment of a new Music Director: Dr. Erik Janners, Director of Music at Marquette University. Dr. Janners begins his duties with the Knightwind Ensemble in the fall of 2010.

Dr. Janners comes to Milwaukee from St. Xavier University in Chicago, and the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. At both of those Universities, he created conducting workshops to provide further conducting training opportunities to high school teachers and music students. In Canada and at Marquette, he expanded the band programs to two bands and founded University Wind Ensembles. And if that isn't enough, while in Saskatchewan, he created a television show entitled For The Love Of Music, which featured the music of concert bands and wind ensembles.

At Marquette, Dr. Janners conducts the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Pep Band, all the while supervising the overall Music Program. He also teaches courses in the University's Music Minor program, including music theory, conducting, and music history. He is a published author and has served as a featured clinician, not only at state music conferences, but also the Midwest Clinic.

In a future post, I'll do a Q and A session with Dr. Janners. If you have questions you'd like to ask, send them to the blog email address: milwaukeecommunitymusic@yahoo.com. I'll add them to my questions, and we can inundate Dr. Janners together!

Milwaukee Tradition Continues

The Milwaukee American Legion Band has performed summer concerts in Humboldt park as long as I can remember. They will perform again this year on Tuesday June 29 at 6:30 PM at the Chalet stage in Humboldt Park.

The concert begins with a small Dance Band performing standards, just to get you in the mood for an old fashioned band concert in the park. Then the entire concert band will perform one of their traditional patriotic concerts. No one follows that formula of programming more than the Milwaukee American Legion Band.

The concert is a part of the Chill On The Hill series, sponsored by the Bay View Neighborhood Association. Food vendors will be there for your snacking enjoyment. Their series is always a nice way to spend a pleasant summer evening.

So, pack your lawn chairs and your cooler and come to Humboldt Park, in Milwaukee's Bay View Neighborhood to hear a Milwaukee tradition: a summer concert by the Milwaukee American Legion Band. See you there on the 29th.

Shorewood Concert Band Summer Schedule

The Shorewood Concert Band will perform 4 concerts this year, including the Shorewood Men's Club Chicken Bar-be-cue Saturday the 12th (yesterday, and it was a great concert...and the chicken was great, too). Here are the other dates:

• June 24, 7 PM at Atwater Park featuring Music from the Movies
• July 4 at 6:30 PM as a part of the Shorewood 4th of July Celebration, A Red White and Blue Spectacular
• July 15 at 7 PM at Atwater Park featuring a Salute to the Music of the Big Bands

Atwater Park is just north of Capitol Drive on Lake Drive. Street parking can sometimes fill up, so best to get there a little bit early and have your pick of the lawn. Remember to bring a chair or blanket for a comfortable seat.

If there is music you would like the Shorewood Concert Band to play, send your request to this email address: shorewoodcncrtband@sbcglobal.net. And for more information, you can also check the blog of the President of the Shorewood Concert Band at this link for more information: http://capnfrank.blogspot.com/. He tells me that his blog will include pictures, videos, and previews of upcoming concerts, so check it out!

Hartland Community Band Summer Schedule

I received a nice note from the folks at the Hartland Community Band with their summer schedule. For those of you not familiar with the group, the Hartland Band performs a summer series of concert in and around the Hartland area, as well as a Christmas Concert every year at Holy Hill. Here is the schedule for this year's summer series.

• June 25 - The first summer concert at Nixon Park in Hartland at 7 PM
• June 27 - The band performs on a bandwagon through Hartland beginning at 1 PM
• July 12 - A joint concert with the Fort Atkinson Community Band at the band shell in Barrie Park in Fort Atkinson at 7:30
• August 18 - A special performance at the Band Shell in Oconomowoc at 8 PM
• August 19 - The final summer concert at Nixon Park in Hartland at 7 PM

If you are in the area, be sure to look them up this summer. Sounds like a lot of fun.

And for those who like to plan ahead, the Hartland Community Band Christmas Concert at Holy Hill is set for December 5 at 3 PM.

First Concert of the Summer Season

The first Summer Band concert is always in Shorewood. The Shorewood Concert Band kicks off the season performing in Atwater Park during the annual Chicken Barbecue hosted by the Shorewood Men's Club. So mark your calendar for Saturday June 12 for Barbecue Chicken prepared by Rupena's, and music by the Shorewood Concert Band.

This year, the Band begins the entertainment in the park at 12:30. It's still a bit early so I do not yet have a concert preview. As soon as I get info from the Director, Dr. Patricia Backhaus, I'll post it. But Dr. Pat's concerts are always fun and she prepares her groups well.

And if you've never had Rupena's chicken, you are in for a treat!

Atwater Park is at the corner of Lake Drive and Capitol Drive. But be aware that Capitol Drive is under construction and you might run into delays. If you are coming from the south, best to take Hampton Avenue east to Lake Drive and then go north. Similarly, if you are coming from the north, take Silver Spring to lake Drive and go south.

And if you take in the concert, stop by and say hello...I'll be there with a red Wisconsin Badger Band baseball cap!

Concert Preview - Milwaukee Festival Brass

The Milwaukee Festival Brass, Milwaukee's only British style brass band, performs music of a spiritual nature on Sunday June 6 at 3 PM in the Schwan Concert Hall of Wisconsin Lutheran College.

His Eye on the Sparrow features long time MFB member Brian Bolling on Flugelhorn. A trio of concert master Tom Traugott, soprano cornetist Dave Magoon, and Dave Mayer on Euphonium perform the World Premiere arrangement of The Prayer. Joshua Swings the Battle is a great piece by Stephen Bulla and will feature Andrew Sowatzke on Trumpet. Andrew is one of the members of the Milwaukee Festival Youth Brass, and is a student at Waukesha South High School.

The feature piece for the concert is Crusade by Reiks Van Der Velde. It is a programmatic work telling the story of a young man who leaves home to fight for his religion, but also in search of fame and glory. This may be the most difficult piece the MFB has programmed. Should be a good one.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for Seniors and Students and can be purchased at the door. Be sure to leave plenty of extra time to get there because parking will be at a premium because of a graduation ceremony. The MFB has made arrangements for off-site parking and transportation to the concert hall. Click here for more information.

Memorial Day Concerts

There are three concerts on Memorial Day that you might want to attend, one by the Knightwind Ensemble, one by the Wauwatosa Community Band, and one by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Concert Band.

First up is the Wauwatosa Community Band. They are a part of the Memorial Day observance for the City of Wauwatosa. It will be held at Longfellow Middle School on the corner of 76th and North Avenue beginning at 10 AM. The band will provide patriotic music to accompany the ceremonies. See the Tosa Band site for more information.

In the afternoon, the Knightwind Ensemble will present its 21st Annual Memorial Day Pops Concert in the Peck Welcome Center at the Zoo at 1 PM. Besides some light classics, the Ensemble will perform music of Broadway, including selections from Les Miserables and the Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein. Of course, there will be a march or two. And the concert will conclude with the annual Salute To The Armed Forces. The concert is free with your Zoo admission. Click here for Zoo information.

Later in the afternoon at 5 PM, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Concert Band will perform a concert observing Memorial Day at the War Memorial Center downtown. The program will include light classics, show tunes and marches. If your day is busy early on, this might be a nice way to end the weekend. Here is more information on the concert.

And be sure, however you spend your weekend, to spend some time on Monday May 31 honoring our veterans, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. It is because of their sacrifice that we have our freedom.