HALEY BAAS | STAFF REPORTER
The Indianapolis Municipal Band performed their fall concert this Thursday at the Howard L. Schrott Center for the arts.
They started out the performance with “The Star Spangled Banner” and continued the celebration with their next piece, “A Celebration Fanfare.”
The band is composed of members from the Indianapolis community as well as Butler University students. Dr. Daniel P. Bolin, who is on staff in the Music department at Butler, is the band’s conductor.
This concert also featured Michael J.Colburn as a guest conductor.
Dr. Michael J. Colburn is the current director of bands at Butler. He was previously the director of the Marine Corps Band.
After Dr. Colburn stood up from his seat as a euphonium player in the ensemble, the group played two pieces under his direction.
Both of these pieces, composed by Percy Grainger, were much more mellow than previous ones.
The audience roared with applause as Dr. Colburn finished up his pieces and took his seat once again with the ensemble.
The vast majority of the concert was full of of lively, upbeat music.
From the moment the first note sounded, the audience was engaged in the music.
The musicians in the ensemble were truly immersed in the music they were playing, showing that they, too, were sincerely enjoying the performance. They performed as though they were having just as incredible an experience as the audience.
Though most of the pieces were relatively short, they were all played with gusto and enthusiasm in their entirety.
One of the most memorable portions of the concert was a performance of “Symphonic Highlights from FROZEN,” which included selections from “Let it Go” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman.”
The piece ended with the largest round of applause in the entire concert.
The concert ended with “The Dance of the Jesters” by Peter Tchaikovsky from “The Dance of the Snow Maidens,” which is based on contemporary Russian folk tale.
This last piece was upbeat and exciting, and the band left the concert hall followed by the audience’s applause.
Though the pieces were executed with excitement and gusto, the band was often out of tune, undermining the performance.
Overall, I would give this performance three out of five stars.