Happy Thanksgiving

The fall concerts have been performed.  The Holiday concerts are round the corner.  Time to take a breath, slow down, even for just a bit, and be thankful for all we have.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Kettle Moraine Symphony concert

The Kettle Moraine Symphony will present a program of music saluting veterans entitled  Dawn’s Early Light: A Salute to Veterans. The program begins at 3 PM in the Silver Lining Arts Center in West Bend.  A pre-concert presentation begins at 2PM.

The orchestra will be joined by the West Bend High School Vivace! and Concert choirs, the Moraine Chorus, and the VFW Post 1393 Color Guard.  The program includes John Williams’ Hymn to the Fallen, marches by John Philip Sousa, Morton Gould’s American Salute,  and Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2, Romantic.

Veterans are invited to attend the concert at no cost. Community members can buy tickets for $18, seniors for $15 and students with valid ID for $5. Tickets are available online at kmsymphony.org and at Horicon Bank in West Bend, West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce, and White House of Music in West Bend and Germantown.

Those who want to learn more about the music they will be hearing are invited to a free pre-concert talk with Professor Peter Gibeau at 2 p.m.  For more information, see the Kettle Moraine Symphony web site.

There is no better way to salute our veterans than with wonderful music!

Greenfield Concert Band

The Greenfield Concert Band will perform their first concert of the season on Friday November 17th at 7 PM in the Performing Arts Center at Greenfield High School.  Unfortunately, I do not have information about the concert at this time.  The group has been in existence for only a few years, but will perform this May at The Amp in Konkel Park, the City of Greenfield's new amphitheater.

But November is a bit chilly for an outdoor concert.  And the Greenfield HS PAC is a very nice venue to hear a concert.  So, mark November 17th on your calendar!

Update from the Kettle Moraine Symphony

I received a nice note from the folks at the Kettle Moraine Symphony.  They have a number of upcoming concerts of great interest:

• Sunday November 9 at 3 PM the KMS presents a Salute to Veterans at the Silver Lining Arts Center at the West Bend High Schools.  The program includes a pre-concert talk beginning at 2 PM.
• Sunday March 4 at 3 PM, the KSM features music of American Composers in a program entitled A New American Frontier.  That performance is also at the Silver Lining Arts Center at the West Bend High Schools.
• Sunday May 6 at 3 PM the KSM perform Hayden's Creation with the Moraine Chorus at a venue that is perfect for sacred music:  The Basilica at Holy Hill.

And at 10 AM on Saturday morning November 4, the KSM performs at the West Bend Community Library for a Family Fun Day.  The program is geared for younger ones (4 to 12) but kids of all ages are welcome.

For more information, see the Kettle Moraine Symphony web site.

Concert Preview - Waukesha Area Symphonic Band

The Waukesha Area Symphonic Band will present it's first concert of the season on Friday November 3.  The program, entitled The Color of Movement, will begin at 7:30 in Shattuck Auditorium on the campus of Carroll University.  This is a benefit concert for the Healing Hearts of Waukesha County.  You can get tickets from Healing Hearts of Waukesha or at the door.

The concert will feature both classic and contemporary composers, including Claude Debussy Jack Stamp, and Robert Buckley.  The evergreen symphonic band favorite Mannin Veen by Hayden Wood and the Suite from Mass by Leonard Bernstein are on the program.  Astor Piazzolla's Street Tango will feature dancers from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio on stage accompanying the band.  Sounds like a fun evening that benefits a great cause!

For more information, please see the WASB web site or the web site for the Healing Hearts of Waukesha County.

Concert Preview - Menomonee Falls Symphony

The first concert of the new season for the Menomonee Falls Symphony focuses on the nine elements that make up music.  Maestro Mike Kamenski will demonstrate the different elements of music through different pieces on the program.  For those who might like to learn what the performers do on stage while they play the pieces, audience members are invited to come up on stage and sit in with different sections of the orchestra.  This is a great way for younger ones to get an idea of how each different parts come together to "make music". 

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for Seniors, and $6 for Students, and can be purchased at the door. For more information, see the MFSO web site.

Concert Preview - Concord Chamber Orchestra

The Concord Chamber Orchestra will perform on Saturday October 21 in their new concert venue, the Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church on 80th Street just north of North Avenue.  The concert theme is Stars and Stripes:  American Icons, and the concert honors different American Icons from composers (Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein) to heroes of history (Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin.

Here are a few selections from the program:

• Rip Van Winkle Overture by George Chadwick
• Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland
• Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein (Natalie's favorite)
• Benjamin Franklin Suite arranged by Alan Shulman
• Suite from American In Paris by George Gershwin

Tickets are available at the door:  Adults $18, Seniors $12, Students $5.  The concert begins at 7 PM.  For more information, see the orchestra's web site.

This looks like a fun concert to attend.  I hope to see you there.