Summertime means outdoor concerts! My main gig was with the Oneonta Community Concert Band. I conducted on July 24, with program centered around “The Great Outdoors”:
Fairest of the Fair – John Philip Sousa
Selections from Damn Yankees – Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
March of the Cute Little Wood Sprites – P. D. Q. Bach
From the Delta – William Grant Still
Chasing Sunlight – Cait Nishimura
The Wizard of Oz – Harold Arlen, arr. James Barnes
On the Mall – Edwin Franko Goldman
This concert was a true delight, especially the PDQ Bach, which had a little extra comedy attached when the entire clarinet section skipped a repeat. The show went on, and we found the double bar together.
This group also had concerts on June 30 and August 14 under Kerri Hogle’s baton.
I was also fortunate to appear with the Columbia Summer Winds conducting Holst’s First Suite in E-flat at the Central Park Bandshell (!!) on July 30.
It was a relatively light summer dedicated mostly to plenty of rest and reflection. I look forward to taking the plunge into fall very soon!