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| Rhapsody in Blue was the featured piece of the Concert Band Concert |
On April 22nd, the College of the Ozarks Concert Band performed their Spring 2016 concert in the Jones Auditorium on the College of the Ozarks Campus. Directed by Dr. Kevin Powers, the Concert Band is dedicated to providing a rewarding instrumental ensemble experience to the brass, wind, and percussion students of the College of the Ozarks and community members. The Concert Band performed a varied program, beginning with the patriotic classic God Shed His Grace on Thee, an arrangement by Andrew Glover using themes and elements of America the Beautiful, while adding original elements and even a section of antiphonal brass. The next piece on the program was the theme from a classic western film, Silverado. Evoking images of the open plains of the West, this piece was beautifully arranged for concert band, and our band did it justice. This semester's concert featured Dr. Clara Christian as the piano soloist in their next piece, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, arranged for concert band by Donald Hunsberger. From the first slurred run on the clarinet to the final tutti chord, the concert band held their audience spellbound, and Dr. Christian's virtuosic playing supported and filled out the piece in a spectacular way, earning her a standing ovation from the crowd. The next piece took a softer turn with David Holsinger's A Childhood Hymn, a sweet, gentle arrangement of Jesus Loves Me. The energy spiked back up again, though with a rousing Sousa march: Riders for the Flag and concluded with the rollicking Broadway-style Curtain Call by John Wasson. All Concert Band concerts are free and open to the students, faculty, and public.
