Concert to honor U.S. allies, veterans

The Naperville Municipal Band will observe Veterans Day with a twist on Sunday when it opens its indoor concert season.

"We're going to play three marches that salute our allies in the second World War," Director Ron Keller said.

The band's "Veterans Day Salute to the Allies" begins at 3 p.m. at Naperville Central High School, 440 W. Aurora Ave.

Keller said a French march, "Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse," will be familiar to fans of Big 10 football because it's often played by the Ohio State University marching band.

The band also will perform an overture titled "The Merry Wives of Windsor," and a video presentation will accompany another march, "Sons of Australia."

Keller says the concert also will include a newer, contemporary piece, "Heroes, Lost and Fallen," in honor of those who served in Vietnam.

In addition, the show will feature a tribute to Rudy Wiedolft, a popular saxophone player in the 1930s, by Harry Hindson, a former member of the U.S. Navy Band.

Keller said Hindson, a former area resident who now lives in Wisconsin, once taught music in Naperville.

"He always comes back to Naperville to play a solo every year," Keller said.

The band will step even further back in time when it delivers a medley of Civil War songs titled "Blue and Gray," a piece that will be punctuated by a dramatization of a peaceful meeting between North and South by Civil War re-enactors.

The show also will include a World War I-era British march, "The Voice of Guns;" a piece called "The Unknown Soldier," featuring a visual presentation by media specialist Veronica Porter; and an unusual rendition of "Amazing Grace" performed by the band's tuba and euphonium section.

The concert finale will be a performance of "The Spirit of Naperville," penned by resident Rudy Bilotta.

Keller said Bilotta, 94, will conduct the band's performance of his composition.

"He wrote it when he was in World War II," Keller said.

Bilotta is a retired musician who also taught band in Naperville.

"He was a very accomplished musician in his day," Keller said.

If you go

What: "Veterans Day Salute to the Allies" by the Naperville Municipal Band

When: 3 p.m. Sunday

Where: Naperville Central High School, 440 W. Aurora Ave.

Cost: Free

More information: (630) 778-9994 or napervilleband.org