On Thursday July 7th the Naperville Municipal Band held their annual patriotic concert in Downtown Naperville’s Central Park. The concert, which featured patriotic favorites, was rescheduled after unsafe air quality in the area the week before. The change of date did not stop the eager audience from coming to support Naperville’s beloved band and the clear skies and warm weather provided the perfect backdrop for this year’s show. Ann Lord acted as MC, introducing and adding historical anecdotes for each piece. Joining the band was a group of reenactors, who dressed in period-accurate Civil War costumes and fired their 6 canons during the band’s performance of the Overture to 1812. This highly anticipated performance is a yearly tradition which began in 1977 when the Naperville Municipal Band played it for the first time. Per the request of director Ron Keller, canons were added, and the song has become a staple to the Patriotic Concert ever since.
The Band’s Patriotic Favorites
The July concert included:
Americans We by Henry Filmore
Crusade for Freedom by J.J. Richards
Fantasy on Yankee Doodle arr. Mark Williams
American Patrol by F. W. Meacham
E Pluribus Unum by Fred Jewell
Blue and Gray Suite by Clare Grundman
Salute to the Armed Forces
Overture to 1812 by Tchaikovsky, arr. Mayhew Lake
America the Beautiful by Carmen Dragon
God Bless America by Irving Berlin, arr. H. Ades
Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa
About the Naperville Municipal Band
The band consists of an impressive 100 plus members, and has been entertaining crowds in Central Park for over 150 years. The band includes musicians for the following instruments: flute, piccolo, oboe, bassoon, E-flat clarinet, B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, contra-bass clarinet, alto saxophone, bari saxophone, tenor saxophone, French horn, cornet, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, and percussion. This year’s concert marks Dr. Ron Keller’s final Patriotic Concert as the band’s long-time director. Their 2023 summer concert series consists of 11 concerts in Central Park, all of which are free to the public to enjoy.
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