The St. Joseph Municipal Band continues the 2004 season summer concerts with its normal set of double concerts on Sunday, July 4 at the regular 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. times at the John E. N. Howard Band Shell in downtown St. Joseph overlooked Lake Michigan. The July 4 concerts are traditional in that they will feature all patriotic music and will again honor the veterans of all our services that have helped keep our freedom for the United States of America. Featured vocal soloist in the concert will be Gary Cooper, principal trombonist of the band.

 

Director Dr. Donald Moely, who continues his seventeenth season as conductor of the band, indicated that the concert begins with Edwin Franko Goldman's "The Chimes of Liberty" march, followed by a patriotic selection of the music of George M. Cohan set for band by John Cacavas entitled "Star Spangled Spectacular." Next the band performs "Variations on 'America,'" a set of variations by Charles Ives, The band then performs a march uniquely titled "Red's White and Blue" composed by "Red" Skelton.

Composer Irving Berlin is next featured with "Irving Berlin's Songs for America". This is followed a Carmen Dragon arrangement of "America., The Beautiful."

The band then introduces it’s vocalist for the concert, Gary Cooper, the principal trombonist of the Municipal Band, who attended Lake Michigan College, Indiana University at South Bend, and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Cooper has played with the Michigan Opera Orchestra, the South Bend and Kalamazoo Symphonies, and the Chicago Civic Symphony. He has performed as a soloist with Southwestern Michigan Symphony, Elkhart Symphony, St Joseph Municipal Band, Chicago Civic Symphony and sang in the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Cooper performs in a chamber vocal group called Opus Nine. He is Artist in Residence in the St. Joseph and Lakeshore Public Schools. Cooper also teaches at the CARE Arts Center for the Salvation Army and provides private lessons. He is an active clinician and soloist throughout the Midwest. Gary Cooper, will sing Lee Greenwood’s popular song "God Bless the U.S. A."

The next part of the program begins by having veterans who served in our wars and conflicts over the years stand and receive the appreciation of the audience, followed by the bands rendition of "Armed Forces Salute," during which the veterans in the audience are asked to stand while their service branch song is played.

The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" follows by Peter Willhousky, and the concert concludes with John Philip Sousa’s most famous march "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Dr. Moely indicated that before the encore for the concert is played (which is the last strain of "The Stars and Stripes Forever"), all the veterans are asked to come up on the stage while two trumpets of the band play taps and its echo. When the front of the stage is all filled with the veterans who served our country so valiantly, the band concludes with its encore.

The hour long Municipal Band concerts at the John E. N. Howard band shell are held each Sunday at 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. and continue through Sunday, September 5 and conclude with the final set of concerts Monday, September 6, Labor Day.