Cottonwood AZ (April 26, 2014) – Join the Cottonwood Community Band as it makes a Musical Tour of America with music about America and Americans when it presents its spring concert in Sedona and Cottonwood. The Sedona concert is May 4th 3 PM at the Rock of Ages Lutheran Church, 390 Dry Creek Road in Sedona. The band will repeat the concert on May 11th at 3 PM at the Mingus Union High School Auditorium 1801 E Fir St. in Cottonwood. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
Jerry Brubaker’s composition The American Road is the inspiration for this themed concert. Imagine hopping into your convertible as the music traverses the open road, travels during morning rush hour, gets stuck in gridlock, drives through covered bridges, and cruises along America’s favorite roads.
Perhaps Route 66 is one of your favorite roads. The band will play Bobby Troup’s Route 66, a wonderful jazzy tune depicting this American icon.
Some of the places the band will visit musically are Texas with Don George’s The Yellow Rose of Texas, Kentucky with Clare Grundman’s Kentucky 1800, Georgia with Hoagy Carmichael’s Georgia on My Mind, and Rogers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma. No tour of America would be complete without a stop in Sedona and the band will pay tribute to the beauty of our area by playing Steven Reineke’s Sedona.
The band honors Irish Americans when it plays Danny Boy and Mexican Americans when it plays Zacatecas, a Mexican March. No tribute to America would be complete without American jazz. The band will play a selection of hits made famous by Benny Goodman, the King of Swing.
With the Cottonwood concert, the band moves back to the Mingus Union High School Auditorium after playing to standing room only crowds at the Cottonwood Recreation Center. Help the band fill this marvelous venue by bringing a friend to the concert. Also new this spring is a partnership with the Mingus Union High School band program. The Cottonwood Community Band will be joining the Mingus Union High School Bands on their concert being held on Thursday, May 15 at 7 PM. The Cottonwood Community Band will play several selections by themselves before joining with the high school bands for a combined selection.
The Cottonwood Community Band, under the direction of Will Norris, consists of instrumentalists from the Verde Valley and Sedona. The members range in age from high school students to retirees. The band rehearses on Monday evenings from 7-9 PM at the Cottonwood Middle School Band Room 301. New Members are always welcomed. Visit the Cottonwood Community Band on the web at http://cottonwoodcommunityband.org.
