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| SUNCOAST CONCERT BAND JOY OF SPRING April 12, 2026 COUNTRY GARDENS Percy Grainger/arr. J. P.Sousa Country Gardens is an English folk tune that Cecil Sharp collected in 1908 and passed on to Grainger, who played improvisations on it during his World War I tours as a concert pianist for the US Army. According to Grainger, it is a dance version of the tune “The Vicar of Bray“. Once published in its original piano form, the tune brought Grainger great success. However, it was not among his favorite compositions. John Philip Sousa admired Percy Grainger’s compositions and programmed them regularly. Upon hearing Grainger’s 1918 piano setting of “Country Gardens”—which Grainger had improvised during Liberty Loan concerts—Sousa recognized its potential and wrote an arrangement, featuring the piece in concerts with his own band. THE BLUE BELLS OF SCOTLAND Leroy Anderson Composed in 1954, Leroy Anderson’s “Scottish Suite” had four movements: “The Bluebells of Scotland”, “The Campbells Are Coming”, “Bonnie Dundee”, and “Turn Ye To Me”. In 1956 Anderson withdrew “The Campbells Are Coming”, “Bonnie Dundee”, and “Turn Ye To Me” because he was not satisfied with them. His arrangement of his favored, Blue Bells, has become a standard part of the concert band’s repertoire. TWO LITTLE BULLFINCHES Henri Kling/Diana Appler Solos for two piccolos and band are rare. Audiences love to watch live soloists and this piece is a rare find that allows our two Piccolo performers, Michael Berndt and Patti Preves, to imitate birds while displaying their virtuosic talents. Henri Kling (1842-1918) was a well-renowned and respected composer, French hornist, conductor, and educator serving 50 years at the Geneva Conservatory as a Professor of Music Theory and Horn instructor. He composed over 550 compositions in many genres. BILLY JOEL IN CONCERT Billy Joel/-Paul Murtha “The Piano Man” grew up in Hicksville, Long Island where he attended high school. He failed to graduate with his class, due to missing an English exam because of a late gig the night before. He has quipped, ”I decided if I wasn’t going to Columbia University, I’d go to Columbia Records!” With a catalog spanning 50 years and more than 150 million albums sold, Billy Joel’s music lives in the Pantheon of rock and roll. This amazing medley for concert band showcases some of his most iconic hits, featuring It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, Just the Way You Are, Piano Man, Uptown Girl, and You May Be Right. AS I WALKED THROUGH THE MEADOW Pierre La Plante A lifelong Wisconsin resident, Pierre La Plante (1943-2024) grew up in Sturgeon Bay. He received a Music Clinic tuition scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he earned the Bachelor of Music with Honors in Music (1967) and Master of Music (1972) degrees. An accomplished composer and arranger, his catalogue of works has been performed by bands in Australia, Europe, Japan and Saudi Arabia, as well as throughout the United States. This pastorale, “Grainger-esque” setting of a traditional English folk tune gives our ensemble’s musicianship a chance to shine. DON’T RAIN ON MY PARADE Jule Styne/John Moss From the 1964 hit Broadway Musical, Funny Girl, this song has endured as Barbra Streisand’s signature anthem of defiance and ambition. John Moss’ arrangement evokes the audience’s recollection of Streisand’s fiery performances of the song as the indomitable Fanny Brice, both on Broadway and in her Oscar-winning performance in the film. SPRING fromTHE FOUR SEASONS Antonio Vivaldi/John G. Mortimer The Four Seasons is the best known of Vivaldi’s works. Though the other three of the concerti are wholly original, the first, “Spring”, borrows patterns from a sinfonia in the first act of Vivaldi’s contemporaneous opera, Il Giustino. These concerti were a revolution in musical conception – Vivaldi representing bubbling creeks, singing birds, and a storm with thunder and lightning in this first of the seasons. Unusual for the period, Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying sonnets (possibly written by the composer himself) that elucidated what it was in the spirit of each season that his music was intended to evoke. The concerti therefore stand as one of the earliest and most detailed examples of what would come to be called program music—in other words, music with a narrative element. SATCHMO! (A Tribute To Louis Armstrong) Arranged by Ted Rickerts Featured on Ken Burns’ history of jazz as “the man who taught them all how to swing,” Louis Armstrong is an American treasure! This magnificent medley features four great tunes made famous by Satchmo: What a Wonderful World; When the Saints Go Marching In; St. Louis Blues and Hello Dolly! It also presents an opportunity to showcase a member of our section, as well as The Jazz Ambassadors, Kevin Gibbons. SPRING Randall D. Standridge The beautiful elements of Spring are illustrated in this remarkable work for band. Only six pitches are used for each instrument, but beautiful harmonies and colorful orchestration are achieved, providing a perfect vehicle to demonstrate artistic expression and independent voicing. JOY REVISITED Frank Ticheli Ticheli is among the most tastefully creative and expressive composers for the modern concert band. His “Joy Revisited’’ serves as an expression of the feelings experienced by an expectant father on one wonderfully anxious and exciting day. THE HOUNDS OF SPRING Alfred Reed Alfred Reed (1921-2005) was one of America’s most prolific and frequently performed composers. The Hounds of Spring was composed in 1980 and was inspired by the poem “Atalanta in Calydon” by Algernon Charles Swinburne. In this concert overture, Reed captures the elements of youthful exuberance and tenderness of love expressed in the poem. ODE TO JOY Ludwig Von Beethoven arr.Chris Sharp The concert is concluded with this stirring arrangement of Beethoven’s universal statement of man’s triumph over evil. Sharp presents the theme from the 9th Symphony here in a flamboyant style reminiscent of film score writing. |