Last year the Campbell River Community Band experimented with a family friendly afternoon concert.
The response was so good that they are doing it again, with “As the River Flows……” on Sunday.
The 2 p.m. concert, to be held in the Carihi multi-purpose room, will include home-made refreshments and a chance for the audience to mingle with the band members after the concert.
Because the concert isn’t too long parents are encouraged to bring their children - there will even be a way for them to participate in one of the musical numbers.
Because so many cities are situated on rivers, founding director Céline Ouellette has found a wealth of river-themed music for this concert, starting with a suite by Mark Williams entitled Campbell River Sketches.
One of Canada’s mightiest rivers is depicted in Steve Hodges’ McKenzie River Quest, while Shannon Falls, by Ralph Ford, takes us to Sea to Sky country.
The Great Steamboat Race and Cotton Ferry Expedition, with their unique sound effects and hints of rag time and Dixieland, suggest the early days of the river boats on the Mississippi River.
American composer Frank Ticheli has used the folk song Shenandoah as the basis for an evocative and very popular addition to concert band repertoire.
A folk song is also the basis of Claude T. Smith’s The Water is Wide.
Explorers came to North America in tall ships.
Half Moon on the Hudson, by Michael Sweeney tells of a voyage of exploration, nearly 400 years ago, by Henry Hudson on his ship, the Half Moon.
Jay Chattaway has given us a powerful and exciting piece of music with his Parade of the Tall Ships.
The world of Broadway and the movies is represented by a medley of highlights from Show Boat, and an arrangement of Mancini’s Moon River.
Bands and marches go together, so the concert will end with Kenneth J. Alford’s stirring Armies of the Nile.
The Campbell River Community Band, made up of musicians all ages and abilities, has been playing together for eighteen years.
They have played in many concerts and festivals, including a gold medal performance at a national band festival.
Tickets for the concert are $5, or $12 for a family, and are available at the door.