Naperville band to honor armed forces
America's armed forces will be honored in song this weekend when the Naperville Municipal Band opens its new season with a spring concert featuring guest conductor Lt. Commander Patrick Sweeten, U.S. Navy director of Fleet Band Activities.
Sweeten will conduct three pieces, said band director Ron Keller, including John Philip Sousa's "The Glory of the Yankee Navy," written in 1918. The concert begins at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 22, at North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville.
Sweeten also will conduct the band playing "That Others May Live," a piece honoring fallen soldiers who never returned from the battlefield, and "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," a song also known as the Navy Hymn. Videos will accompany the performance of both pieces, Keller said.
Keller said he met Sweeten about 12 years ago when Sweeten was the Navy Band Great Lakes director.
"The Great Lakes band came down to the Memorial Day parade. We just kind of hit it off, became very good friends," Keller said. "We think the same. We have the same ideas about programming in music."
When Sweeten was transferred to Hawaii and then later to Memphis, the two band directors kept in touch.
Keller said Sweeten plans to conduct music clinics with student bands at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville and at Marmion Academy in Aurora on Thursday, and rehearse with the Naperville Municipal Band on Friday prior to Sunday's concert.
The Naperville Municipal Band has a long tradition of saluting the armed services.
"One of our summer concerts is always the '1812 Overture,'" Keller said. "You'd be surprised at the number of veterans we have living in the Naperville area. It's amazing."
Several milestones will be observed at Sunday's show.
"We're kind of saluting Illinois for its bicentennial," Keller said. The state of Illinois was officially founded on Dec. 3, 1818.
The band also will musically address the ending of World War I, which occurred on Nov. 11, 1918.
And, in honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Naperville American Legion Post 43, the band will debut Keller's newly minted march "Post 43 the American Legion."
According to the American Legion website, the post was formed in June 1919 and received its national charter in August 1920.
Keller said he's written about a dozen marches to date, including one for Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873.
Sunday's concertgoers also will hear a "Disney Around the World" piece and a number dedicated to jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman. Both Disney and Goodman were Chicago natives, Keller said.
Because the band is funded through a city grant, all performances are free, Keller said.
The summer performance schedule includes 11 evening performances in Naperville's Central Park, as well as a Memorial Day concert and participation in the May 28 Memorial Day Parade.
If you go
What: Naperville Municipal Band's annual Spring Concert
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, April 22
Where: North Central College's Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville
Admission: Free
Info: napervilleband.org