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Campbell River Community Band spring concert theme is not human

That’s Not Human! is the intriguing title of the Campbell River Community Band’s annual spring concert to be held on May 9 at 7 p.m. in the Maritime Heritage Centre.
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Campbell River Community Band poses outside the Maritime Heritage Centre in May, it’s usual performing venue.

That’s Not Human! is the intriguing title of the Campbell River Community Band’s annual spring concert to be held on May 9 at 7 p.m. in the Maritime Heritage Centre.

Conductor Kolya Kowalchuk has searched through the band’s library for titles suggestive of all the meanings of “not human” and came up with some surprising possibilities.

For example, John William’s ‘Olympic Spirit’ created for the 1988 Summer Olympics, celebrates humans doing impossible things. The Muppets pretend to be human but they are really puppets. The band will play a medley of music from their movies.

The music from the Incredibles movie is as exciting as the characters, computer – animated superheroes forced to hide their powers and trying unsuccessfully to live a quiet life.

The most famous of the Superheroes, Superman, made his debut in the comics in the thirties, then moved to radio, television and film. John Williams’ music has been arranged as a suite for concert band featuring some of the most famous themes.

The Bare Necessities, from the Disney film The Jungle Book features a Dixieland solo by trumpeter Roger Kirk.

Cat owners swear their pets think they are human - and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Cats, seems to agree with them. The band will play a group of five selections, including the much-loved Memory.

Not exactly non-human, but far away in time, Pevensey Castle (a real castle in England during the dark ages) is an atmospheric work by the renowned band composer, Robert Sheldon.

The only thing that’s not human about Gustav’s Holst’s First Suite in E flat is the demands it makes on the players. There are many solos and complexities in this three movement work. It is always rewarding for both players and audiences.

The Campbell River Community Band is celebrating its twenty-second year. The founding director, Celine Ouellette, now plays in the horn section.

Current conductor Kolya Kowalchuk is well known in the Campbell River area, where he grew up. He is the music teacher at Ecole Phoenix Middle School and Ecole des Deux Mondes.

Admission to the concert is by donation, to help defray the considerable cost of rental of the band room at Carihi, insurance, and music. The concert, which begins at 7 p.m., is short enough for families with young children to stay and enjoy the refreshments made by band members.