Performances continue in the Lehigh Valley in recognition of \u201cAmerica250\u201d by the American Legion Band of Bethlehem and the Macungie Band.<\/p>\n
The American Legion Band of Bethlehem presents \u201cAmerican Landscapes,\u201d 7 p.m. July 24, Bethlehem Rose Garden, Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a conductor, I like my concerts to be thematic so I can connect ideas both within and between selections,\u201d says Christopher Klump, Conductor of the American Legion Band of Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor \u2018America 250\u2019 this summer, I selected a series of programs to celebrate different facets of our country such as American folklore, great American artists and for this concert, American landscapes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The concert opens with \u201cAmerican Spice\u201d by Sammy Nestico (1924-2021), who considered this piece his \u201cheartfelt musical expression of his American pride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally from Pittsburgh, Nestico was trombonist with the U.S. Army Band during World War II, spent 15 years in the U.S. Air Force, leading the popular jazz ensemble, Airmen of Note, and was chief arranger for the U.S. Marine Band.<\/p>\n
Another familiar composer is Leroy Anderson (1908-1975). Known for his light concert music such as \u201cSleigh Ride,\u201d \u201cThe Syncopated Clock\u201d (theme song for the late-night movie program \u201cThe Late Show\u201d) and \u201cThe Typewriter.\u201d The band performs another of his favorites, \u201cHorse and Buggy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOklahoma Highlights,\u201d by arranger John Moss, takes popular hits from the Broadway musical \u201cOklahoma!,\u201d including \u201cOh, What A Beautiful Mornin,\u2019\u201d \u201cPeople Will Say We\u2019re in Love,\u201d \u201cThe Surrey with the Fringe On Top\u201d and the title song.<\/p>\n
Additional selections include \u201cColorburst\u201d by George Kenny, \u201cJourney into Blue Rock Country\u201d by composer and jazz pianist Torri Zito, \u201cMountain Majesty Overture\u201d by Paul Yoder, \u201cPrairie Reflections\u201d arranged by John Warring, \u201cSeascape\u201d by Alfred Reed and \u201cSkyline Overture\u201d by John Morrissy.<\/p>\n
The concert closes with \u201cSkyliner March\u201d by Harry L. Alford.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween pieces, I speak about the composers\u2019 inspirations and accomplishments, as well as stories about the music and connection to the greater theme of the evening,\u201d says Klump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my fourth season working with the Legion Band and this season is definitely the best we\u2019ve had together so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to serving as Conductor of the American Legion Band of Bethlehem, Christopher Klump is Assistant Conductor of the Marine Band of Allentown and a guitar and trumpet instructor at Community Music School Lehigh Valley and Berks. Klump is a graduate of Moravian University.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican Landscapes,\u201d American Legion Band of Bethlehem, 7 p.m. July 24, Bethlehem Rose Garden, Eighth Avenue and West Union Boulevard, Bethlehem. Free. Information: https:\/\/americanlegionbandofbethlehem.godaddysites.com\/<\/p>\n
The Borough of Emmaus celebrates \u201cAmerica250\u201d with a weekend of music, food, history and family fun, July 24 through July 26, and the Macungie Band in concert.<\/p>\n
The Macungie Band presents its \u201cCelebrate America\u201d concert, 10 a.m. July 25, Third and Main streets, Emmaus.<\/p>\n
The two-hour program features something for everyone.<\/p>\n
Patriotic favorites include John Philip Sousa marches such as \u201cThe Liberty Bell,\u201d \u201cWashington Post\u201d and the United States\u2019 National March \u201cThe Stars and Stripes Forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Broadway medleys feature music from \u201cChicago,\u201d \u201cGypsy\u201d and \u201cHello, Dolly,\u201d while the jazz genre entertains with Chuck Mangione\u2019s \u201cChildren of Sanchez\u201d and works by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.<\/p>\n
Add \u201cVolare,\u201d the popular Frank Sinatra tune \u201cMy Way,\u201d W.C. Handy\u2019s \u201cSt. Louis Blues,\u201d music of George and Ira Gershwin and more for a morning of great entertainment.<\/p>\n
\u201cCelebrate America,\u201d Macungie Band, 10 a.m. July 25, Third and Main streets, Emmaus. Free. Information: 610-965-9292; https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Emmaus250<\/p>\n
\u201cClassical View\u201d is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOAmerican Legion Band of Bethlehem<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOMacungie Band<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Performances continue in the Lehigh Valley in recognition of \u201cAmerica250\u201d by the American Legion Band of Bethlehem and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-245700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}