2018 Winter Concert

The Seward Concert Band invites you to come out of the cold for an evening of music and community at our 2018 Winter Concert. Director Cassandra Bechard’s inspiration for the “Sounds of Winter” concert was to capture the feeling of winter and all of the season’s festivities in a variety of historical periods.

We open our concert with a Brass Choir piece composed by Giovanni Gabrieli in 1597. We invite you to imagine yourself sitting in St. Mark’s Cathedral located in Venice, Italy during the holiday season hearing this glorious brass work, Sonata Octavi Toni.

The concert then moves to a Woodwind Choir piece, Espana Waltzes, originally composed for orchestra by Emil Waldteufel in 1886. The work is full of charm and features each instrument of the woodwind section. We then transition to Bach’s My Jesus! Oh What Anguish as a way to stop and reflect upon and honor those that have passed on during this holiday season.

Reed’s Alleluia, Laudamus Te is a beautiful complement to the Bach, full of rich harmonies and textures built to uplift your spirit. We continue our Winter Sounds journey with Rachmanioff’s Italian Polka, a piece that is sure to have you tapping your toes. A new piece for the Seward Concert Band will then be performed, Eric Whitacre’s Seal Lullaby, a beautiful, imaginative work. We conclude our concert with Gustav Holst’s Second Suite in F, a well-crafted four movement work, which allows several members of the group to be showcased in a soloistic setting.

Join us at Sanford Middle School in Minneapolis on Friday, January 19. Our performance begins at 7:30 PM in the auditorium. Suggested donations are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $4 students and children.

Tentative Program

  • Sonata Octavi Toni by Giovanni Gabrieli (Brass Choir)
  • Espana Waltzes by Emil Walteufel (Woodwind Choir)
  • My Jesus! Oh, What Anguish by Johann Sebastian Bach, freely transcribed by Alfred Reed
  • Alleluia! Laudamus Te by Alfred Reed
  • Italian Polka by Sergei Rachmaninoff
  • The Seal Lullaby by Eric  Whitacre
  • Second Suite for Military Band in F Major by Gustav Holst