The Memorial Day Concert in A.K. Bissell Park at 7 p.m. on Monday is a good opportunity to celebrate the end of a holiday weekend and a special way to pay tribute to our military veterans and personnel currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. This annual event is performed by the Oak Ridge Community Band and is the first concert of their summer series of performances on Memorial Day, July 4, August 4, and Labor Day.
There is no admission fee for the summertime concerts, and the audience is encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for outdoor seating.
Directed by band leader Dale Pendley and assistant conductor Lisa Michaels, the Community Band will perform a number of patriotic tunes including Irving Berlin’s “Songs for America,” Samuel Barber’s “Commando March,” and a medley of songs from Elliot Del Borgo’s arrangement of “A Broadway Salute” featuring “Yankee Doodle Boy, “Give My Regards to Broadway,” and “You’re A Grand Old Flag.” Other patriotic tunes are John Philip Sousa’s “Riders for the Flag,” George Cohan’s “Over There!,” and Bob Lowden’s “Armed Forces Salute” with “Semper Paratus,” “The U.S. Air Force,” “Anchors Aweigh,” “The Caisson Song,” and “The Marines’ Hymn” during which military personnel and veterans are recognized for their service to our country.
The Community Band will also perform John Cacavas’s “Concerto Americana,” Aaron Copeland’s “Variations on a Shaker Melody,” and a medley of tunes from “A Tribute to Glenn Miller” arranged by Henry Gass. Also on Monday night’s program will be Cole Porter’s “Can-Can” and Warren Barker’s arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Strike Up the Band.”
The Oak Ridge Community Band holds rehearsals every Thursday evening at the First Baptist Church, and college students home for the summer and summer employees are particularly invited to join the band for the summertime concert season. Interested musicians can visit the band’s web site at www.orcb.org or call 865-483-3044.
