No 'stagnant listening' at this concert. This Cape Cod trumpet player painted the music.

The Cape Cod Concert Band is celebrating two birthdays during their upcoming concert “Happy to Be Here: A Musical Celebration of Cape Cod” on May 26 at the Performing Arts Center at Barnstable High School.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, two birthdays? Let me explain. In 1974, beloved conductor Tony Stevens created the Cape Cod Conservatory Wind Ensemble with support from the Cape Cod Conservatory. The band performed under Stevens until 1955 when John Hagon took over the role of conductor.

Under Hagon, the band saw a name change — to the Cape Cod Conservatory Concert Band — and eventually broke away from the Conservatory in 2013, becoming the Cape Cod Concert Band as we know it today.

Cape Cod Concert Band celebrates birthday at show on May 26

This show not only honors the 50th and 10th birthdays of the Cape Cod Concert Band but the conductors of past and present.

The band is also giving a nod to their beloved trumpet player and Cape Cod composer Mike Donovan by playing “Portraits of Cape Cod,” written by Donovan, and which reflects his life and memories.

"I'm in the middle of the trumpet section so I'm a participant," Donovan said. "Sometimes that's better than being in the audience and going, 'Oh, I hope they do this.' 'Oh, here comes that part.' I'm almost predisposed. I've got my own part to play, and I don't want to mess that up. But it's fun."

The suite consists of eight movements — “U.S. 6: Travelling Music,” “Sunrise from the Sagamore,” “A Tiny Irish Cottage, a Giant Irish Family,” “New Haven 382,” “Four Seas Ice Cream,” “Echoes from the Columns,” “The Whit Tileston Band'' and “Faith in the Cape: The Gospel Truth.”

Each movement is accompanied by a painting created by Donovan in 2016, when the suite debuted.

In the painting for “U.S. 6: Travelling Music,” a couple is seen driving down the highway in a cherry red convertible with the license plate “I LV L,” a nod to his wife Elanore who inspired the song. The original pieces have since been auctioned off but accompany the pieces in the show’s program.

“In their programs, they'll get to look at the picture that depicts the music that's being framed at the same time so you're getting them from two different artistic stimulants,” he said. “It really gets the audience participating as opposed to just stagnant listening.”

Donovan and Kate Whouley, president for the Cape Cod Concert Band, said they worked closely together to create a musical representation of the Cape Cod experience, even including a nod to the Thompson’s Clam Bar theme tune in the music.

“The song starts with ‘Hey, where you going? I’m going to Thompson’s Clam Bar,” Donovan said. “That dee-dee-de-de connects almost all the movements in some way.”

Tributes to three conductors

Outside of “Portraits of Cape Cod,” the program includes tribute pieces to the band’s three conductors Stevens, Hagon and current conductor Tom Borning.

“For years, we did these concerts called ‘Sousa Lives’ and (Hogan) would dress up like John Philip Sousa,” Whouley said on the reasoning behind her selection for Hogan’s tribute piece. “I chose this untitled march that was recently discovered, and we had never had a chance to play as an ensemble … It was going to be John's retiring performance and we didn't get to play it. So, it's perfect that we're going to play it for this one.”

For the first time, the band will be playing at the Performing Arts Center at Barnstable High School, an achievement which is both exciting and slightly nerve-wracking for Whouley.

“It's sort of a confluence of circumstances that has landed us there but it feels really appropriate that we're going to hit 50 in the big auditorium instead of the little one,” she said.

Overall, the show aims to celebrate the band’s history and share the joy with the audiences who have supported them throughout the years. In true birthday fashion, cupcakes will be handed out to audience members after the show so be sure to snag one before you go.

“We want people to sort of discover us if they don't know about us already, give us a little extra appreciation if they do and really appreciate the history and all these folks who've been committed to bring music to the community,” Whouley said.

“Happy to Be Here: A Musical Celebration of Cape Cod” takes place at 2 p.m. on May 26 at the Performing Arts Center at Barnstable High School and is free to attend. For more information about the show and the Cape Cod Concert Band, visit their website www.capecodconcertband.org/.

Frankie Rowley covers entertainment and things to do. Contact her at frowley@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Here's why Route 6 is in a Cape Cod band concert, coming on May 26