Make a night out of it with Wheaton Municipal Band concert June 15
The place to be on Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. sharp is Memorial Park in downtown Wheaton.
Dr. Bruce Moss, the music director of the Wheaton Municipal Band, gives the downbeat, and the band takes off on an incredible musical journey.
This week, June 15, the musicians show off their musical sensitivity. The technique and sight-reading skills of the members of the Wheaton Municipal Band is legendary, but their musical sensitivity is highly fine tuned as well.
Band performers like to play loud, but it is in the nuances and pianissimo sections that really test the quality of musicianship.
This week's concert focuses on the music arranged by Dr. Paul Noble.
Noble takes the choral music of John Rutter and arranges the lush harmonies and beautiful melodies for band.
The choral subtilties don't easily transfer to wind instruments, so it takes tremendous skill to match the vocal timbre with horns. Then it takes practiced skill to perform an instrument will the ease of a vocalist. When it is done well, the sound and beauty of the music transform into an experience.
As he programs the season, Moss plans and contemplates each music experience.
"For years I have known Paul Noble and his skill at arranging what are often thought of as 'British Light Classical' works," says Moss.
Noble approached Dr. Moss about having the Wheaton Band perform his new arrangement of "Solemn Prelude" by Samuel Coleridge Taylor, and this progressed into the idea of programing an entire concert around Noble's many transcriptions.
"This led to a 'suggested program' suitable for an outdoor band and audience," said Moss. "And one thing led to another …"
"Our audience may not recognize all of the melodies, but I'm confident they will enjoy the flavor and variety of the music."
In addition, the Wheaton Municipal Band presents the principal oboist, Andy Nogal, as the evening's soloist.
Nogel performs "Autumn Soliloquy" by James Barnes.
"I selected this piece because of its tender and reflective mood, which is perfect for the oboe," said Nogal. Nogal can be heard throughout the Chicago area, including performances at Ravinia, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Orchestra Barnes-Stokowski Festival, and the New York Phil Biennial held at the Metropolitan Museum.
His recent international engagements include concerts in Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Auckland, Berlin, and Vancouver. Forthree summers, he studied and performed under the direction of Pierre Boulez in Switzerland.
The free concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 15, in Memorial Park in downtown Wheaton. Bring a lawn chair, a picnic, or sit in the stadium seats.
If you cannot make it to the park, this concert is live-streamed on the Wheaton Municipal Band Facebook page.
For more information, go to wheatonmunicipalband.org.