Las Vegas Brass Band Performs A Salute to Veterans

November 9, 2014

Las Vegas Brass Band presents A Salute to the Veterans at Clark County Library

On November 9, 2014 I attended the Las Vegas Brass Band’s Salute to the Veterans at the Clark County Library directed by Dr. Richard McGee. Dr. McGee is also one of the two authors of the class text. The performance selection included mostly secular pieces with the exemption of How Great Thou Art played in the second portion of the show. The instrumentation was in the British traditional style, which included nine Cornets, a Soprano Cornet, two Percussionists, a Bass Trombone, two Euphoniums, two Baritone Horns, two Flugelhorns (though traditionally there’s one), four Tenor Horns (traditionally there are three), two Eb tubas, two Bb tubas, and three Tenor trombones (traditionally there’s two) totaling 30 people. Usually a British-style brass band is 27-29 but this rule is not very strict, simply an old tradition.

The program begun with a rendition of Semper Fidelis, originally composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889, a song about the U.S. Marine Corps. What was very profound was hearing a song that became so notable for its lyrics being played with no vocalist allowed all of those in the audience to absorb the full gravity of the composition.

As the band moves to John Williams’ Concert March from 1941, the entire tempo changed to a much more allegro tempo with several crescendos that left the listener feeling awake and interested. No opportunity for pesky nodders here!

Now, as the band moved into Jerry Bilik’s American Civil War Fantasy, the tempo dials down to a much mellower but not quite slow moderato tempo. The crescendos very strategically cause one’s heart to race and reminisce about the simpler times. What made this refreshing to hear is the fact that entirely brass family instruments played it. When one thinks of the American West, horns don’t exactly come to mind. This was almost more of Hollywood’s version of the American West, but hey that’s the version everyone remembers right?

Abide with Me as composed my William Henry Monk came shortly afterwards. This, composition seemed to be very well placed in the program as a break before the intermission. The tempo was a nice smooth lento that was almost grave in nature. This interested me because I never envisioned brass instruments as “gentle,” but this definitely corrected that thought! Such grace and elegance! The work felt totally new played on this instrumentation.

After the intermission, the band played a piece called The Great Revival, an original work for this band. Much like American Civil War Fantasy, it let the listener feel that sense of Americana in that it had big vivace sound with lots of big flourishes and almost gave the sensation of a chase on a horse in some movie. A magnificent piece, indeed!

Billy Strayhorn’s Take the A Train followed, a much jazzier piece that had a more Southern feel. Having heard this piece before on a string quartet, this version left a very stark contrast to what I had previously heard. After looking up on of the original performances by Strayhorn with Duke Ellington I saw that it’s meant for more of a concert band. This didn’t take away from the experience in any way, though. The musicians were very talented and also felt like a song for the musicians to take a breather in with its adagio pace and generally relaxed tone.

I’m not entirely certain as to why How Great Thou Art arranged by Eric Ball and Amazing Grace arranged by William Hines were being played, given that it seemed very inappropriate for the venue (a public library theater) but the tunes were nicely played, and mostly decrescendos throughout. Personally they were was my least favorite pieces, but I commend them for playing something unexpected.

The West Side Story medley was my favorite! I loved the film and Broadway renditions, and naturally enjoyed hearing the familiar tune in the midst of all of this unfamiliar much older music. The melody of America! is so easily identifiable, I wasn’t surprised to see a few children wiggle in their seats as well as several adults tapping toes, mine included!
            As the program winded down to a close, the familiar tune known as “Taps,” was played. This is a solemn song I generally hear played by a single trumpet, but on this occasion the whole band played, and with the percussionists’ supplemental cadence you could help but shed a tear as the effect of the tune intensified.

The band program was to end on a more positive note, playing the Armed Forces Salute, having each group of veterans stand up for applause for their service. This portion of veteran’s events always intrigues me because I like to see how many served. Most were Army and Air Force, but there were several Navy and Marines as well. The military marches are all meant to build morale before battle, so naturally they were all big, forte pieces with defined duple meter patterns meant to march along to.

The John Philip Sousa classic, Stars and Stripes Forever, was the closing piece. A big, fortissimo piece like this is an excellent closer because it leaves the listeners feeling positive and patriotic. All in all, the program was a nice diversion for an hour or so. I felt I received enough old mixed with the new to leave feeling nourished yet content.