Contributed by Zaz Hollander
Some of the best music written for band was inspired by the simple tunes of folk songs.
Come hear some fine examples from classic pieces by Holst and Grainger to newer works at an upcoming performance by the Mat-Su Concert Band.
The “From Past to Present” concert is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 at Glenn Massay Theater at Mat-Su College near Palmer. Tickets are $20 for general admission; $5 for students; and free for children under 5. Buy tickets at the door or at www.matsuconcertband.org.
On a program spanning the centuries, the oldest selection is “Sleepers, Awake! (Wachtet Auf)”, a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach based on a hymn from the late 1500s.
The newest selection, “Fantasy on a Gaelic Hymnsong,” is by David R. Holsinger, who as a child loved the melody of “Morning has Broken”, later made famous by the singer known as Cat Stevens. Holsinger weaves the melody through this contemporary piece.
For his “Second Suite in F for Military Band”, a foundational piece of wind literature, Gustav Holst took his musical influence from English folk songs and dance tunes: a lively Morris dance; the southern England sea shanty “Swansea Town;” or the Elizabethan love tune, “Greensleeves.”
The band will perform two pieces by Ralph Vaughn Williams: “Folk Song Suite for Military Band”, which incorporates numerous English tunes, and “Rhosymedre,” based on a Welsh hymn.
Percy Aldridge Grainger took inspiration from the English Morris dance for “Shepherd’s Hey,” a rousing piece set for military band.
The band will also perform “Symphonic Suite,” a classic of the symphonic band repertoire composed by Clifton Williams. Two Sousa marches, “The Washington Post” and “The Glory of the Yankee Navy,” are also on the program, as is “Dunedin March” by Kenneth J. Alford – dedicated to his wife, Betty, who called it “her most favorite march.”
The band got its start in 1984 as the Mat-Su Community Band, formed by Matanuska Music owner Hank Hartman. Other directors have included Neil Long and Phil Munger.
Current director Gleo Huyck is a retired music educator and private instructor. Under Huyck’s baton, the band performs a wide-ranging selection of challenging music. The band this season numbers about 70 amateur musicians who assemble every Monday night for rehearsals at Teeland Middle School.
