|
With the Fourth of July coming up this week,
conductor Riley McDorman said the theme was music of America.
The band began with the song “Star Spangled Banner”
as the audience rose to face the flag.
Next up was “Hail America,” a march song featuring excerpts from
“America the Beautiful,” “My Country Tis of Thee” and other
patriotic songs.
Jerry Brubaker’s “America Variations” also included
the song,” “My Country Tis of Thee” with variations on its melody.
The American medley “United We Stand” by John O’Reilly included
portions of several tribute songs like “America” and “Battle Hymn of
the Republic.”
As a way of celebrating the men and women who have
served or are currently serving in the armed forces, the band then
played “American Heroes,” which had portions of each military
branches’ service song. Before they began playing, McDorman asked
veterans and active service members to stand and be recognized
through a round of applause.
During a ten minute intermission, many bought cake
and ice cream from the Lincoln Women’s Club. The Women’s Club will
use the funds raised to support various community projects they do
throughout the year.
[to top of second column] |
After the intermission, McDorman thanked the sponsors
who help make the summer concert series possible. Sponsors include
Lincoln’s First United Methodist Church, Begolka Farms, Guest House
and Lincoln Daily News.
To start the second half, the band played a march song called “Torch
of Liberty” by Karl King.
The next piece something McDorman considers just as American [as
many of the other songs], which is rock and roll. The song “Rock and
Roll to Remember” is a medley of rock and roll songs throughout the
ages. The medley included “American Bandstand,” “Rocking Robin,”
“YMCA,” “Rock Around the Clock” and a couple of others.
In introducing “America the Beautiful,” McDorman said
he and his wife recently traveled through various states. He
realized the land he saw was not flat and there were things out
there besides corn as he viewed the mountains. What that showed
McDorman is how beautiful our country is.
Before the band played its final song, McDorman
thanked everyone who had come out to hear the concerts this summer.
As he said, “without you, we would have no one to play for.” Since
it was the last concert of the summer season, McDorman hoped
everyone would come out to hear the band next year.
For the final song of the evening, the band played
“Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Sousa. McDorman said he could
not think of a better piece to send us into Independence week.
[Angela Reiners]
|
