Wheaton Municipal Band to ‘Take Three’ at June 20 concert

On Thursday, June 20, the Wheaton Municipal Band presents its third concert of the season, but that is not why the concert is called “Take Three.”

The title refers to the band’s third performance at the prestigious Midwest Clinic at McCormick Place. Last December, the Wheaton Municipal Band, under the direction of Dr. Bruce Moss, was invited to perform for the third time to the large audience attending the clinic.

The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic draws more than 17,000 musicians from all over the world. It is an honor to be selected once, but the Wheaton Municipal Band boasts three performances at the Clinic.

Thursday night, the band hand selects music from that performance to share with the Memorial Park audience. The music selection process is a vigorous exercise in details. Moss had to select music of varying grade difficulty as well as keeping everything within a time limit. Immediately, when the band’s performance is announced publishers and composers inundate Moss with requests to perform their works.

The band then listens to the selections and makes difficult choices. There were more than a thousand pieces of music to choose from. One of them was a wonderful new work by Joseph T. Spaniola called “Together in the Park,” written specifically for the Wheaton Municipal Band and the audience in Memorial Park.

Another was a work by Cait Nishimura called “Origin.” This work falls in the “Grade 4” category for young musicians. It was commissioned by the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble.

An emotional highlight of the evening is an original work by Lake Forest composer James Stephenson, written to commemorate the Highland Park Fourth of July 4 tragedy. The work “Hymn for Us” uses motifs and repetition to show the strength of Highland Park.

The concert features clarinetist David Brian Vrablic, playing “Solo de Concours” by Henri Rabaud. Vrablic has played with the band for 12 seasons. This work was composed for the Paris Conservatory in 1889 and shows off the clarinet with technical passages and a beautiful Andante movement.

In addition, be prepared for some wonderful marches, music by Offenbach and a favorite, “Spanish Dance” by Dmitri Shostakovich.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Park, 225 Karlskoga Ave. in downtown Wheaton.

Bring a lawn chair or blanket. For more information, visit www.wheatonmuncipalband.org.