MINDS WIDE OPEN - A Celebration of Women in the Arts
The Richmond Concert Band has been
included in Virginia's first state-wide event - Minds Wide Open. On Mother's
Day, Sunday, May 9th, the band will be performing at Agecroft Hall a
concert of music "written by", "performed by", or "about" women.
This Women in the Arts
concert is titled Women of Note and is already
destined to be a grand event.
Bring Mom on Mother's Day along with the
family and a picnic and enjoy the excitement surrounding this
concert.
DUE TO THE SNOW AND ICE...
Sunday's concert at
Tabernacle Baptist Church has been canceled.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our concerts next year.
Christmas Concerts will be fabulous!
The band has four concerts set up for the
December month. About half the music is Christmas music and half
is light classical or winter fun. The band members are very
excited to be presenting the music that has been prepared. We
hope to see everyone at one of the four concerts!
Final Summer Concert
This free concert will be held on the
grounds of Agecroft Hall. It begins a bit earlier than previous
(5:30pm) since the sun is setting a bit early. Please feel free
to bring a picnic and enjoy time on a blanket or lawn chair with family
and friends.
Old Instruments for Young Hands
Words & Music Festival at Dogwood Dell
Join the band
at the city's new (and free) Words & Music Festival.
Designed for families, there will be children's entertainment,
storytelling, and all kinds of music for a day-long festival.
July 4th at Dogwood Dell
October 4, 2008
See
information on John Philip Sousa below - Spring 2008
August 24, 2008
July 27, 2008
July ends with the
band's annual Old
Instruments for Young Hands
concert at the Albert Hill Middle School Park across Patterson Av from
the school which is located at 3400 Patterson Av.
Before the concert
even begins, 11 instruments have already been donated by members of the
community that
will be redonated to the City of Richmond Public Schools. The
city schools will then loan these instruments to upcoming students who
have the desire to study music and be part of a band or orchestra, but
whose families are unable to buy or rent an instrument.
This
year, four students from Chandler Middle School will be joining the
band on several of the songs. The fruition of our efforts is
coming to
light. Come join in our excitement and these children discover
the joy
of entertaining our community!
Anyone
with an instrument stored away in their home that they would like to
donate, please bring it to the concert. If you are unable to make
it to the concert, call the band at (804)737-3767 or just e-mail note@rcband.org. The band will
be pleased to accept your donation and make every effort to pick it
up. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by the law as the
band is a 501(c)3 organization.
July 4, 2008
Richmond is the only place in the United States where all the “special
effects” called for in the 1812
Overture are
located on site – cannons and bells (plus fireworks), according to
James R. Heintze, a librarian at American University in Washington,
DC.
And Richmonders will be able to experience all of that and more on July
4th
at Dogwood Dell in Byrd Park.
On
July 4th the Richmond Concert
Band will be presenting its 37th consecutive
Fourth of July concert at Dogwood Dell. This free concert is part
of the Festival of the Arts presented by the City of Richmond’s
Division of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities.
The
band’s program will consist of a mixture of concert selections,
marches, music from the movies and Broadway, popular selections and
patriotic songs – something for everyone. The
finale to the program will be Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
When he wrote it in 1880, Tchaikovsky noted in the score parts for both
cannons and bells. As is the band’s tradition, all of those
elements, plus fireworks, will be included in the performance.
In 1973, the Boston Pops, under the direction of
Arthur Fiedler, started the tradition of performing the 1812
Overture on July 4th, adding fireworks to the celebration and
music. They arranged for an Army Reserve unit in Massachusetts to bring in cannons, had fireworks
from New Hampshire shot from a barge
in the Charles River,
and wired bells from a nearby church by radio into the Esplanade.
Here in Richmond,
everything is “live.” In a field behind
the Dell, the fireworks will be launched above the Dell stage. On the slope beside the Dell, howitzers from
the Virginia National Guard will be fired. And
right beside the Dell, the bells of the carillon, Virginia's WWI Memorial, will be
played. Here in Richmond,
the bells don’t have to be radioed into the amphitheater; they are
already on site.
James
R. Heintze, a librarian at American University
in Washington, DC, has done extensive research on
the history of celebrations on the Fourth of July. He has
published The Fourth of July Encyclopædia (McFarland
2007). A forthcoming work is a history of "Music and the Fourth
of July" and is scheduled for publication in 2009 in which he will include a photo of and information
about the Richmond Concert Band’s annual performance.
His research indicates that Richmond’s July 4th celebration is
the only one in the country where all of the parts called for in the 1812 Overture are located on site – musicians, cannons
and bells. He
has created a website www.american.edu/heintze/fourth with an extensive database of information.
Mr. Heintze will be in Richmond on July 4th to attend this
concert. While here, he will be meeting with Richmond's
Carillonneur Lawrence Robinson and will be touring the carillon.
Mr.
Robinson verifies Mr. Heintze’s findings. Robinson
has spoken with many of his colleagues in The Guild of Carillonneurs in
North America (GCNA) and has found no other carillonneur who plays the 1812 Overture with a symphony orchestra or concert band
with on-site cannons.
On July 4th the festivities begin at Dogwood Dell
with a 5:00 pm performance by Bak ‘N Da Day. At
7:00 pm Lawrence Robinson will present a concert on the bells of the
carillon. The Richmond Concert Band’s
performance begins at 8:00 pm.
Join James Heintze at
Dogwood Dell and watch the only performance in the
country of the 1812 Overture that includes all
three special effects found in the score live and on-site.
Spring 2008
ohn Philip Sousa. You’ve
heard that name, haven't you? Who is he? Or maybe who was he?
A famous ball player? A politician? An historical hero? He’s
somebody famous, you know that! After all,
there’s even a bridge in Washington,
D.C. named after him! Do you
know? Can you remember?
Mr.
Sousa is one of America’s
greatest composers, musicians, and bandmasters. He
was the director of the US Marine Corp band, the President’s Own, for
many years, then started his own band that was so popular that they
often played concerts 2 or 3 times a day, 7 days a week!
Still not sure exactly who he is?
How about The Stars and Stripes Forever, our
National March? Yeah, that’s it! It was John Philip Sousa who wrote that along
with 136 or so other marches, several operettas, and hundreds of other
pieces. The Stars and Stripes
Forever is arguably the most famous march in the world, and is
certainly one of the best! Sousa even
wrote an arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner.
John Philip Sousa was born in 1854 and died in
1932.
His great-grandson, John Philip Sousa, IV, will be visiting Richmond on
October 4th, and narrating a concert by the Richmond Concert
Band. It will be a concert of all music composed by his
great-grandfather. And it will be a concert of much more than
just marches, though the marches certainly were some of Sousa’s
best.
The band will also be performing from one of Sousa’s operettas and
several other concert pieces.
Mr. Sousa, IV, a resident of Farmington, CT,
will be the guest narrator at the concert that will be held at
Richmond's Scottish Rite Temple on Saturday evening, October 4th,
beginning at 7:00. Mr. Sousa will relate stories about his
great-grandfather and the writing of the songs that the Richmond
Concert Band will be performing. After the concert, Mr. Sousa
will be available for photos, questions, and autographs.
August 5, 2007
The
annual Old Instruments for Young
Hands concert, August 5th at Albert Hill Middle School - 6:30pm.
The band is beginning to see successes with the donated instruments
re-donated to the city of Richmond Public School System for use by the
children who may not otherwise have a means to obtain an instrument to
use. Read the following letter/story from one of the
teachers!
As an inner-city music educator, there are a few rites of
passage in the
first few years. The first being the
first time you get “the look”. This is
the look that is dolled out when you tell people that you teach in one
of the
“harder” parts of town. I will never
forget my first “are-you-crazy-or-just-stupid” look.
It was last summer when the secretary, at the
middle school I attended as a youth, asked what brought me back to Richmond. I told her that I got a teaching position in Richmond’s
Northside for
6-8 grade Band. This is when she laid
the look on me. After some questions,
the look softened. I love my school. There are metal detectors, a supportive
administration, an army of security personnel, and some of the most
genuine and
vibrant students that I have ever had the pleasure to teach.
At the beginning of the school year, I went in early to get the
room
ready. I found writing on the walls,
pulled-up carpet, a clarinet (broken) being used as a door prop, and
many other
things that I was not expecting. Then I
got the news there were 30 kids signed up for my class.
The first days at school flew. The
classroom got cleaned, posters were made,
and inventories were done with the thought of these thirty students.
I had inherited some finds: a working tuba, 3 trombones,
1¾ clarinets,
and 4 trumpets. I was so excited; the
kids would come with their own instruments, and I would have just
enough for
emergencies. Little did I know that only
5 of my 30 had their own instruments. My
principal and I scrambled to find enough in surplus and at other
schools. But, the well was dry.
Then, just as we were running out of ideas… well, I was
attending a Richmond
Concert Band
rehearsal when Mark Poland said something about Old Instruments for
Young
Hands. The engine started firing. I talked to Mark and then made a phone call
to my supervisor and within a week, there was a drop off of 1 snare
drum, 2
trombones, 1 trumpet, and 1 clarinet to my classroom.
That day I almost cried. The next
class my students, who had seen me
surprised by the delivery the day before, came in renewed.
I handed out instruments and contracts and we
learned our first notes. It was amazing
to me how something that I take for granted, having an instrument, can
bring
such life to my students. Levar, for
example, my newest trombone player, treats his trombone like a baby. No one, not even me, is allowed to touch
it.
Throughout the year, we received more instruments, the last
being just
in March when a flute came for a seventh grader that had been learning
her
fingerings on a drumstick with dots drawn on it.
We went to Kings Dominion for a competition this spring and
received an
Excellent (II)
rating. The
students worked so hard and were so excited.
We listened to the judges’ comments the next week and then made
some of
our own. I found myself listening to
their critique and trying to remember when I have been so proud of them. In one school year they went from “this is a
quarter note” to “Miss Gill, I think that we could have put more into
that
forte piano.” This however, could not
have happened without the essentials: food, water, shelter, the
“are-you-crazy-or-just-stupid” look, and instruments.
It really is the small things that make the
huge impact.
Please rest assured that the instruments that you have given or
are
ready to give will make a huge impact in the life of a student. They are willing and ready to be taught, but
not always able to see it through. Be
the person that makes the learning possible!
We will be going back into room 101 in the fall ready to keep
going. This has been made possible
because of you! Thank you.
July 4, 2007
In
the late summer of 1973,
David Mugar,
Executive Producer and Founder of Boston’s Fourth of July, was riding
in a car
with Arthur Fiedler, who directed The Boston Pops' July 4th concert
from
1929 to
1978. Mugar told Fiedler, "If you conduct the 1812 next July
fourth,
I'll try to find cannons, church bells, and fireworks." Fiedler
responded, "Great. Let's do it."
Mugar quickly found howitzers
with the 5th
Battalion, First Field Artillery of the 187th Infantry Brigade of the
US Army
Reserve. Then via the Yellow Pages he found fireworks in New
Hampshire.
But
the church bells were not so easy. Riding around, he located the
nearest
church to the Esplanade, where the concerts are held, and with the use
of wires
and sound equipment, was able to bring the bell sound to the concert.
According to July 4th expert and
historian James
Heintze of American
University in Washington DC,
possibly only
in Richmond can the howitzers, the fireworks, AND the “carillon” bells
all be
seen and heard live on-site!
Every July 4th, from as far back
as 1972, the Richmond Concert Band has been performing on July 4th
on the Dogwood Dell stage. Every year Overture 1812 has been
performed. And it wasn’t but a few years after Mr. Fiedler
directed the
Boston Pops with his cannon, fireworks, and bell set-up that Mark W
Poland,
director of the band began making the same excitement come to life in Richmond.
Only OUR
bells are right there, live, on site, and fantastically played by Larry
Robinson, Richmond’s
carilloneur.
Join us
July 4th, every year to be a part of possibly
the one and only place in the whole USA where you can
experience
such
excitement!
May 26, 2007
The
Richmond Concert Band has also been invited to perform at
the Rock the
Boat, Journey on the James
celebration at the Intermediate Terminal during the docking of the
Godspeed and several other schooners. "It
was just eleven
days after the English landed at Jamestown that Captain Christopher
Newport sailed up what we know as the James River and landed at what we
now call Richmond,” noted the band’s music director, Dr. Mark Poland. “I understand Captain Newport liked the area
and actually would have preferred to establish a colony here." This sailing
event is being recreated, and while being docked in Richmond’s Intermediate Terminal (the
former home of the Annabel Lee), the Godspeed will be open for tours. Along with food vendors and continuous
entertainment beginning at noon, The Richmond Concert Band will be
performing on Saturday, May 26th, beginning at 5:00pm.
Afterwards, the Richmond Symphony will perform at 8:00pm, and
the evening will conclude with a “400 Candle Blowout” - fireworks
over the James at about 9:15pm. Richmond
will be celebrating its own 400th birthday; certainly you'll
want to be there!
May 13, 2007
Jamestown
400 will be
celebrated in a unique way when the Richmond Concert Band presents “Old
World,
New World: A Virginia Connection” on Sunday, May 13 at
Agecroft Hall on
Sulgrave Road
in
Richmond’s
Windsor
Farms. This free program, one of the
band’s
Century
Construction Company Family Concerts, will begin at 6:30 pm.
The Richmond
Concert Band will present music composed
throughout the 400 years since
Jamestown
was settled. What will make this
concert unique is that the band will perform music heard at the 1807
Jamestown
Jubilee and music composed especially for the 1907 Jamestown
Exposition.
In
addition, costumed actors from Agecroft Hall will recreate the toasts
made at
the 1807 celebration and provide the narration for the entire concert.
“It was just eleven
days after the English landed at
Jamestown that Captain Christopher Newport sailed up what we know as
the James
River and landed at what we now call Richmond,” noted the band’s music
director,
Dr. Mark
Poland. “I understand
Captain Newport liked the area and actually would have preferred to
establish a
colony here. So it is appropriate that
we should have our own celebration, and that is just what the Richmond
Concert
Band will do. We will look back and
forward through music as we celebrate 400 years of
Virginia
and
United
States
history.”
The Richmond Concert
Band has been entertaining audiences
since 1972. The band’s Family Concerts
are made possible through a generous grant from
Century Construction
Company. “Old World,
New World:
A Virginia
Connection” will feature music by William
Billings, John Philip Sousa, Randolph Cabell, James Hosay, Robert
Sheldon and
Antonin Dvorak. The 1807 toasts that
will be offered were taken from the official proceedings of that
jubilee. The 1907 music the band will perform are
arrangements made from sheet music housed at various
Virginia
libraries and
museums. The costumed actors from Agecroft Hall will
add a special dimension to the concert by offering the toasts and
narrating the
entire program. They will also provide
the historical background of many of the
selections performed while guiding the audience through the
program.
“Our
Jamestown
400 celebration will be special,” said band president James
Barrett.
“We look forward to seeing many people at
Agecroft Hall who will help us commemorate this historical milestone in
a big
way.” According to Dr.
Poland,
“While the official
Virginia
celebration will be in
Jamestown, the
“real”
celebration will be right here in
Richmond.”
Spring 2007
The band is again
pleased
to be sponsored by our long-time sponsor,
Century Construction Co,
for our annual
Century
Construction Co. Family Concert Series. Two concerts, one is
the spring and one in early fall, are given each year due to the
generous donations of Century Construction. The first in the
series will be held on Mother's Day, May 13th. In celebration of
America's/Virginia's 400th anniversary, the band will be performing a
selection of songs using the theme
Old World, New World :
A Virginia Connection. The band has purchased
music that was used at the 1807 celebration of Jamestown and the music
that was used at the 1907 celebration. Along with that, the band
will be performing music from the 1607 time frame and music written by
Virginia composers through the years. It will be a celebration of
Virginia!
September 24, 2006
A 9-11 Remembrance: 5
Years Later The Richmond Concert Band musicians are
excited to be able to re-honor both the heroes and the fallen from that
horrible date now five years ago. Back in 2001, the band had already
scheduled a concert for Sept 23rd. After Sept 11th, the band was
able to quickly reprogram all the music, line up the Mayor of Richmond
and the City Fire Honor Guard, and present a concert in tribute to the
recent shocking events in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a
field in Pennsylvania. A stirring yet solemn program was designed
and presented within two weeks! Everyone’s patriotism was
renewed, and the fallen and heroes remembered.
This year the band has had more than two weeks to prepare. The
band will be presenting a concert to honor those
men and women who gave their lives on September 11, 2001 as they
responded to the call for help
and to
also honor those who serve today,
ready to respond to each call as it comes in.Though
much of the same music will be presented as was played in 2001, it will
seem new now that some of the shock has worn off. It will be such
an
honor to once again pay tribute to those heroes and fallen
Americans! The concert will be at
Agecroft Hall on
Sunday, September 24th, 5:30pm. Hope all our friends will feel
compelled to be a part of it… lest we forget!
August 3, 2006
The
Richmond Concert Band and, in fact, the music world lost a great friend
with the death of Warren Barker on August 3. We have always
enjoyed playing his music because he wrote so well and knew just how to
score his compositions and arrangements so that bands would sound good
playing them. He had a knack for selecting just the right piece
and style that helped bands play better. His pieces are fun to
play and fun to listen to – a great combination.
We got to know Warren Barker when we commissioned him to write a march
to celebrate our 25th anniversary. When he approached him about a
commission, Mark Poland, our director, remembers thinking he would turn
us down. After all, he was already a big-time, much in-demand
composer who, no doubt, already had plenty to write. But he said
“yes,” and Dr Poland had a great time working with him as he created
our march. Every conversation they had was wonderful; it was like
they had been friends for years. You’ve heard
“Capitol Square March” many times, we're sure. It is used as our
signature piece. Warren wrote us a splendid piece, and we perform
it as often as we can.
Warren Barker had already enjoyed a most successful career writing and
conducting music for television (for more than 30 series!!) and
Broadway before he started writing music for bands. Because he
understood bands, he created high quality compositions and
arrangements. That meant that the music publishing houses readily
published his music, and bands around the world have benefited from
this.
He is internationally known, yet he always made Dr Poland and the band
feel like important friends. We enjoyed hosting him and his wife
Mary on May 12-14, 2000 and presenting our “Warren Barker: The Man and
His Music” concert at Agecroft Hall. What a thrill it was to have
Warren and Mary Barker with us and to have him lead our band. He
was such a pleasure to be around. And he and Mary were the
epitome of what one can consider a husband a wife can and should
be. What role models they were for married couples.
We will cherish the great memories we have of Warren Barker, and we
will keep his memory alive each time we play one of his
compositions. Part of Warren Barker is in each note he wrote, so
through his music, future generations will get to know the man we
consider to be a friend to the music world and a friend, especially, to
us.
August 2006
August began with the band's annual
Old Instruments for Young Hands
concert at the Albert Hill Middle School Park on Patterson Ave.
Another 10 instruments were donated by members of the community that
will be redonated to the City of Richmond Public Schools. The
city schools will then loan these instruments to upcoming students who
have the desire to study music and be part of a band or orchestra, but
whose families are unable to buy or rent an instrument. If anyone
has an instrument stored away in their home that they would like to
donate, call the band at (804)737-3767 or just e-mail
note@rcband.org. The band will
be pleased to accept your donation and make every effort to pick it
up.
Later in the month the band will perform at the 13th annual
Musical Mondays at Maymont. Last
in the series of six community bands, the Richmond Concert Band plans a
concert of dance music. Having noticed the many children who
dance on the carriage house lawn during the concerts, the band chose to
give them actual dance music to guide them along.
Sunday, May 14th, 2006
Due to the buckets of rain, we are
forced to postpone today's concert at Agecroft Hall until next Sunday,
May 21st. Same time, same place. Hope to see everyone
there.
Spring 2006
If you attended Highland Springs High
School in the late 40’s to mid 50’s and were a musician (vocal or
instrumental), or later were a student in Goochland or Powhatan County,
you will remember Mr. Perkins,
Mr. John Perkins,
as your band and chorus director. He died recently at the age of
86. Not many of us can say we have known someone who has impacted
our lives in such a positive way as can most all of the thousands of
students Mr. Perkins taught during his nearly 40 years in the
classroom. John had an impact on his students that lasted throughout
their lives… a love and appreciation of music that they appreciated
even more as they became adults. He was highly respected by all
who came in contact with him. Everyone became a friend. Mr.
Perkins was a concerned educator – and every one of his students
benefited by the encouragement and devotion that he
exhibited. Besides music director simultaneously for two
middle and two high schools, John was also Minister of Music at
Westhampton Baptist Church for just over 35 years, 1956-1991.
Upon retirement he became a member of the Richmond Concert Band.
He had a special spirit – a love for and commitment to God, a love and
care for his family, a trained and knowledgeable talent in music, a
quiet, warm, and humble spirit, a faithfulness to responsibility, and
an enjoyable sense of humor. John’s life was full of humor and
stories, but he balanced it perfectly with a professional approach to
the preparation and performance of music. He took the quiet path
to leadership and all his students knew what was expected. It is
the hope of band members that the establishment of this scholarship in
his honor will create a living legacy of his many gifts and provide the
avenue for his contribution to music education to continue. Any
former students or friends of Mr. Perkins are encouraged to make a
contribution towards the establishment of this scholarship in John’s
memory. Mr. Perkins would be so proud, yet so humbled, by your
generosity in his name. Send checks, made payable to the Richmond
Concert Band, to PO Box 268, Richmond, VA 23218-0268. Mark
“scholarship” in the memo section. For more information, please
contact the band at
note@rcband.org
or (804)737-3767.
Easter
2006
The band is thrilled to be playing at
Lewis Ginter Botanical
Gardens on Easter Sunday
afternoon! Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor will greet visitors and
pose for photographs during the concert which begins at 2:00pm in front
of the Bloemendaal House. Please, no picnics will be permitted on
the grounds, but there will be an a la carte menu available in the tent
next to the band. As was mentioned, the band is thrilled to be a
part of this new experience!
January
2006
The band is excited to again be
sponsored by
Century
Construction Co. As a
primary sponsor, the two concerts at
Agecroft Hall will be known once again as the
Century Construction Co. Family
Concert Series. The first concert is held on Mother's Day
on the
lawn at Agecroft Hall. The second concert will end the summer
season in late September. Thank you, Century
Construction!!
The band has been invited by the
Richmond Marriott (5th and Broad) to
display a Christmas tree in their lobby the month of December.
Numerous non-profit organizations throughout the Greater Richmond area
have been invited to decorate their own Christmas tree. Each
organization will have envelopes at their tree for individuals or
businesses to make monetary donations to that organization in the form
of a “vote” as their favorite tree or non-profit organization. On Thursday, December 15th from 6:00 pm
to 9:00 pm the hotel will host a Gala Reception to showcase the trees
and serve food and holiday spirits. Local choirs, musicians, and
performing arts organizations will also provide entertainment. The
monetary donations made throughout the month will count towards a grand
prize of $500 from the Marriott, which will be awarded to the winning
organization with the highest monetary donation votes.
Please stop by anytime in December and vote for the band's tree!
It's a very musical tree indeed and setting right near the front
desk. And if you can, please join us at the Gala Reception, too,
and stop and say "hello". See a photo of our tree on our "Band
Photos" page.
July 4th at Dogwood Dell, the band's
34th consecutive year. An
indescribable event for the bandsmen. An audience of 50,000 may
claim the same. One of the best moments is performing Overture 1812, by
famed composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Americans expect the
fireworks and the 1812 Overture on the Fourth of July... we hold these
truths to be self-evidently American, right? The 1812 Overture
was written depicting Napoleon's retreat from Russian in 1812, not
America's battles against the British, as many might think. But
it was the one piece of classical music that included 'The Bombs
Bursting in Air'. This apparently was enough to set the stage for
the Russian overture's remarkable transformation in America in the
midst of the Cold War. As the 1812 Overture started gaining
popularity in America, famed Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler
decided to perform the overture on July 4, 1974, with fireworks, real
cannons, and a coordinated steeple-bell choir to increase attendance at
the Pops' summer concerts. Equally as inspired, the Richmond
Concert Band also uses real cannons provided by the 2nd Battalion,
111th Field Artillery of the Virginia Army National Guard. Real
carillon bells are played by Carillonneur, Lawrence Robinson. And
at the appropriate time in the musical story, real fireworks can be
seen above the stage.
The new band programs are in the
planning stages. New advertisers
must contact the band and have their art in by January 10th. We
still have room for more advertisers, so please give us a call (804)
737-1426. This same date will be the deadline for donations by
patrons would would like their names in the program for the coming
year.
The band travels the city performing
five concerts. The concerts this
Christmas are filled with some incredibly beautiful music: Christmas,
sacred, and winter music. The band is thrilled to have the opportunity
to play in all areas of the Richmond area again this year. By
adding Bon Air Baptist to our yearly Christmas schedule the band is
able to perform in each of the geographical areas. Beginning in
the EastEnd at Sandston Baptist, then moving to the WestEnd at River
Road United Methodist, going north to Imperial Plaza, down to center
city at Tabernacle Baptist, and last, but certainly not least, our
newest and final area, Bon Air Baptist in the Southside. By
looking at our entire schedule, everyone can most certainly find a
performance near to their home.
Our concert is held at Albert Hill
Middle
School at 3400 Patterson Ave. Across from the school is a
charmingly perfect little park complete with a raised grass
stage. The concert begins at 6:30pm and lawn-chairs are suggested
and picnics encouraged. The band collects
no-longer-used musical instruments for it's Old
Instruments for Young Hands program mentioned above at
this concert so they will be ready and available when school starts in
September.
February brings Director Mark
Poland's 25th anniversary to
fruition. The band celebrations with a banquet in his honor.
Italian cuisine, fine entertainment, and great fellowship is the band's
attempt to show Dr. Poland what he has meant to them for the past 25
years.
The Richmond Concert Band plays five
Christmas concerts. It was
an unusual opportunity for the band to reach all sections of the
Richmond metropolitan area. One concert was held at Tabernacle
Baptist Church, located in the city. One concert was at Imperial
Plaza in northside. One was held at River Road United Methodist
Church in the west end. Moving east, one performance was at
Sandston Baptist Church. And the last concert, brought the band
south of the river to Bon Air Baptist Church. Watch our
calendar. We will be near you at some point.
Hurricane Isabel pushes through
Richmond and topples many trees at
Agecroft Hall. Besides the many downed trees, Agecroft, like many
of us, is left without power and water and is forced to cancel the
Richmond Concert Band performance. The band moves forward
towards Christmas.
Richmond Mayor Rudolph C. McCullom
honors director Mark W. Poland at
Dogwood Dell
in front of 50,000 fans, proclaiming July 4, 2003 as official "MARK W.
POLAND DAY" in Richmond.
This was the band's 32nd consecutive July 4th at the Dell.
Lawrence Robinson, carilloneer is an "honorary" member of the band each
July 4th as he joins the band in Tschaikowsky's Overture 1812.
The Richmond Concert Band is asked to
be a part of the Rally for
America
at Innsbrook - attracting over 7,000 people in support of our troops.
Richmond Concert Band holds its
annual band dinner. This year's
dinner
was in honor of their director, Mark W. Poland, celebrating his Silver
Jubilee. Many gifts of music in tribute to its director were
presented
following the dinner. Letters of congratulations from around the
world were received and read to Dr. Poland.
Mark Poland, director of the Richmond
Concert Band, begins his 25th
year
in that position. The band considers themselves very fortunate to
have such a distinguished and dedicated director - now celebrating his
Silver Jubilee with the band.
