Oak Ridge Community Band Memorial Day concert to salute veterans
Oak Ridge Community Band members have always looked forward to the summer season of outdoor concerts held in A.K. Bissell Park, and this year’s Memorial Day Concert, first of the summer series, promises to be an outstanding program of music dedicated to veterans and to the men and women currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The concert will be at 7 p.m. Monday, May 27, at the Performing Arts Pavilion in A.K. Bissell Park, 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. There is no admission fee, although donations are gratefully accepted to help offset band expenses.
A special invitation is extended to all area veterans and military personnel to attend the concert for recognition and a salute for their service.
This is an outdoor performance, so the public is encouraged to bring chairs or blankets for seating, and a paved area is available for wheelchairs.
A popular tradition at the Community Band summer concerts is Razzleberry's Ice Cream Lab, which provides refreshments.
Guest Brian Ensign will make a return appearance with the band as tenor vocalist. He will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Band of Brothers.” Ensign has studied with operatic tenor Dr. Sang-In Han of Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and has performed in numerous amateur and collegiate choirs and stage productions. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee.
Veterans and current service personnel will be invited to stand and be recognized when the band performs Bob Lowden’s arrangement of “Armed Forces Salute,” featuring the theme songs of each military branch with “The Caisson Song,” “Semper Paratus,” “The Marines’ Hymn,” “The U.S. Air Force,” and “Anchors Aweigh.”
Clarinetist Kristi Younkin will be featured as a soloist in Paul Murtha’s arrangement of “Benny Goodman: The King of Swing.” The band will also perform Claude T. Smith’s “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” (The Navy Hymn), Philip Lang’s arrangement of “South Pacific,” James Christensen’s arrangement of “The Homefront” with excerpts from “It’s Been a Long, Long Time,” “Thanks for the Memories,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” and “The White Cliffs of Dover.”
Another favorite for the Memorial Day program is James Spears’ “At a Dixieland Jazz Funeral” with soloists Sandy Hirshman on clarinet, London Asquith on trombone, Brian Fricke on tuba, Lauren Stewart on drums, and Elijah Sellers on trumpet.
The Community Band is directed by Shaun Salem and meets every Thursday evening at the First Baptist Church for rehearsals. Area musicians who would like to join the band can call 865-202-2773. More information is at the band’s website, www.orcb.org, or on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OakRidgeCommunityBand.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Oak Ridge Community Band Memorial Day concert to salute veterans
