Purdue Summer Band concert to feature British guests July 18

Purdue Bands' annual summer outdoor concert — saluting everything from James Bond and "The Incredibles" to the Civil War — will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (July 18) at Slayter Center of Performing Arts. Admission is free. Those attending are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets for lawn seating and picnic dinners.

"Americana" was the theme Purdue Summer Band director Jay Gephart used to create the program that will include the Purdue Jazz Band playing music composed in the United States.

"I wanted great concert band literature that had an American slant to it since we're sharing our concert with a group from England," he said.

The Purdue Summer Band will perform Clare Grundman's "American Folk Rhapsody" and Jerry Bilik's "American Civil War Fantasy," both containing a variety of old American folk songs.

"The 'American Civil War Fantasy' is particularly descriptive," Gephart said. "It takes you through the beginning of the Civil War including a depiction of the first shot fired. It's a very powerful piece of music." Some of the tunes included in it are "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Battle Cry of Freedom" and "Maryland, My Maryland."

Switching to the 21st century, the Purdue Summer Band — made up of 60 Purdue students, faculty and community members — will tackle music from the recent film hit "The Incredibles" and salute two upcoming revivals. They will play selections from "A Chorus Line" in honor of its upcoming return to Broadway and James Bond music to salute the remake of "Casino Royale."

The Worcestershire Band also plans to play James Bond movie themes during its portion of the program along with "The Circle of Life" from "The Lion King," music from "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," "Mission Impossible," Peter Graham's "Northern Landscapes" and Eric Bourgesois' "Serenade."

Harrison High School is playing host to the Worcestershire Band's weeklong stay in the Greater Lafayette community. On Monday (July 17) the British band will perform at an Indianapolis Indians baseball game in Indianapolis and on Thursday (July 20) they will share the concert stage with the Lafayette Citizen's Band in Reihle Plaza in downtown Lafayette. Between performances, band members will sightsee in Chicago and central Indiana.

Steve Cotten, Harrison's band director, has been doing exchanges with British youth bands since 1988 and this represents the fifth exchange during the past two decades.

"We're very proud to host the top brass ensemble from the town of Worcester," he said. The 36 instrumentalists will stay in the homes of Harrison's band families and in the summer of 2007, the Harrison Band will travel to England as guests of the Worcestershire Band.

Writer: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands public relations director, (765) 496-6785, kcmatter@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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