Following up on the success of its inaugural concert in November, the Lakes Area Community Concert Band will be giving a second concert this Sunday, April 15, at 4 p.m., in Detroit Lakes' Historic Holmes Theatre.
According to band manager Rick Olson, admission is free, though there will be a free will offering taken to benefit the newly-formed organization.
"We started rehearsals Feb. 1, and have been holding weekly practices, except for one snow day when we had to cancel," Olson said. "But we added a couple of extra (rehearsals) this week."
This Sunday's concert will be packed with surprises, including a guest pianist and the first public performance of an original local composition since its Detroit Lakes debut in 1987.
"We will have a guest pianist, Paul Heisler, who is performing the theme from 'The Apartment' with us," Olson said.
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The original composition was written by the late Jack Harris, who lived in Detroit Lakes with his family from the 1960s to the 1980s.
"He and his wife opened the Harris Music Center in town back in the 1960s," Olson said. "His son Gary is now a member of the band."
In 1987, Jack Harris composed original music for each of the five bands that performed at the inaugural Detroit Lakes All-City Band Festival -- an elementary band, two junior high bands and two senior high bands.
"It hasn't been performed publicly since then," Olson noted. "The piece he composed for the Senior High Symphonic Band was called 'Silver Circus March'... we're going to be performing that one. We're also going to be playing the 'Star Spangled Banner,' as arranged by Mr. Harris."
The concert will also include quite a few patriotic numbers, such as the "Armed Forces Salute," which will be a medley of the themes for each of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. As each of the anthems is played, the veterans of each of those branches will be asked to stand, Olson said.
"That's how we will salute them (the veterans)," he said. The band will also be playing the "Washington Post March" by John Philip Sousa, and a selection by Malcolm Arnold called "English Dances."
"We'll be doing a couple of Latin-flavored tunes, 'Fandango' and 'Pas Redouble,'" Olson said. "There should be plenty of variety for everyone to enjoy."
In addition to Sunday's concert, the community band will also be performing at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Highway 10 realignment project next Thursday, April 19, and will also be the opening night act for the Tuesdays in the Park concert series at the newly-renovated Detroit Lakes City Park Bandshell this summer.
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While there will be a "short break" in the rehearsal schedule after the April 19 groundbreaking, the band will resume weekly practices in May, for Tuesdays in the Park.
Olson said they are also working on establishing a Thursday night concert series at the city bandshell this summer, organized by the Historic Holmes Theatre.
"We'll be bringing in some guest conductors for that," he said, adding that they wanted to give the band's regular conductor, Gene Gaffney, a summer break.
Though the band has been growing steadily since its formation last summer, and is "sounding better than ever," Olson said they are always looking for new members. Anyone who is interested in joining should contact Rick Olson at 847-4281 or by e-mail at bko78@hotmail.com .
