Wheaton Municipal Band to celebrate explorers

The Wheaton Municipal Band on Thursday will dedicate its weekly performance to an evening of music devoted to explorers and explorations.

Part of the band's summer outdoor concert series, the concert on Thursday, July 13, focuses on music that shows courage, determination and conviction - especially John Williams' score from the John Wayne western "The Cowboys."

Also programmed for the evening are "Yosemite Autumn" by Mark Camphouse, "Through Countless Halls of Air" by Frances McBeth, "Short Ride in a Fast Machine" by John Adams and "From Maine to Oregon" by John Philip Sousa.

The featured soloist for the evening is John Mueller, retired performer with the U.S. Army Band in Washington, D.C., and professor of trombone and euphonium at the University of Memphis.

Mueller is also a Wheaton Municipal Band alum who will perform on both the trombone and euphonium. In demand as a soloist, clinician and adjudicator throughout the U.S., Mueller also has performed and given master classes in Japan, Australia, Brazil and Europe.

The weekly concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays at Memorial Park, 208 W. Union Ave., Wheaton.

The Wheaton Municipal Band members rehearse just once and rely on their sight-reading skills to prepare the concert in short order while giving masterful performances.

Audiences are encouraged to come early and bring a lawn chair and a picnic. Concerts are free. For information, visit wheatonmunicipalband.org.