WEDNESDAY, JULY 4 HOLIDAY CONCERTS @ 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. The St. Joseph Municipal Band continues the 2007 season summer concerts with its normal set of double concerts on Wednesday, 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 overlooking 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 include Gary Cooper, principal trombonist of the band.

The band begins its patriotic concert with "Americans We," by Henry Fillmore, prolific American band composer, who realized this march was probably his best one, and published it in 1929, dedicated it to "all of us." The is followed by Morton Gould’s "American Salute,." a brilliant fantasy for band using only the theme of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again." Next heard will be "Star Spangled Spectacular," arranged by John Cacavas.

This is followed by Red Skelton’s march "Red’s White and Blue." Next is heard the music of one of the most patriotic composers, Irving Berlin, when the band plays his "Irving Berlin’s Songs for America." The collection includes "This is the Army, Mister Jones," "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor," "This Is A Great Country," and "God Bless America."

Following this, comes a special arrangement by Claude Thomas Smith of the Naval Hymn "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," and an original march by arranger Warren Barker "Torch of Freedom."

The band then performs a dedication number when it performs all the songs of the Armed Services and invites the members to stand while their respective service song is played as they are honored. This is followed by the guest soloist for the day, Gary Cooper, of the trombone section who comes forward to sing the song which has become a most popular song sung each year at the July 4 concerts. It is Lee Greenwood’s "God Bless the U.S. A."

Vocal soloist singing this song is Gary Cooper, 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 Public Schools. Cooper also teaches at the Salvation Army Arts Center and provides private lessons. He is an active clinician and soloist throughout the Midwest.

The concert concludes with John Philip Sousa’s most famous march "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Director 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 to receive a final recognition for their service to our country, while the principal trumpet of the band play taps. 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. through out the rest of the summer to Sunday, September 2 and then conclude with the final set of concerts Monday, September 3, Labor Day.