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The Lincoln Area Music Society
(LAMS) presented its Spring Concert on April 26 and 27 in the
Lincoln Community High School auditorium featuring a variety of
popular music. Master of Ceremonies Tom Ewald welcomed the audience
to the concert and introduced each song of the performance. The LAMS
orchestra, conducted by Calob Pluhm, began the concert with a lively
arrangement of “The Muppet Show Theme” followed by the “Finale” of
Ludwig van Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5. The George Gershwin
favorite “Rhapsody in Blue” concluded the orchestra’s first portion
of the concert.
The LAMS Chorale, directed by Dr. Dinelle Frankland and accompanied
by Kay Dobson, began their performance with the upbeat “When You’re
Smilin.’” They followed this song with “For the Beauty of the
Earth,” a new arrangement of the poem by F.S. Pierpoint. The Chorale
finished their first half of the concert with the hit pop song,
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
The orchestra began the second half
of the concert with the “Ashford Celebration,” followed by “Stevie
Wonder in Concert,” which featured a medley of Wonder’s greatest
hits. They finished with “Symphonic Tribute” by Nancy Pettersen.
The Chorale took the stage for the second portion of their
performance beginning with “Ain’t Misbehavin.’” This was followed by
“Home” based on the poem by John Howard Payne which opens with the
famous lines: “Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it
ever so humble there’s no place like home.” The concluding song for
the Chorale was “I Sing Because I’m Happy” with words by Civilla D.
Martin and music by Charles H. Gabriel. The finale of the concert
featured the orchestra and choir performing together the patriotic
anthem “America,” an arrangement of “America the Beautiful,” written
by professor, poet, and writer Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 upon
observing the expansive view from Pike’s Peak on a visit to
Colorado. After publication as a poem, Samuel A. Ward wrote the
music for it and this version was arranged by Mary McDonald.
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Photo by Stephanie Hall
LAMS awarded two scholarships to
high school students during the concert. LAMS President Sylvia
Klokkenga presented plaques to seniors Fern Thompson and Wyatt
Ulvestad. Thompson has performed with the LAMS orchestra and summer
band since 2022 and will be graduating from Athens High School in
May. She will be attending Illinois State University and minoring in
music. Ulvestad has sung with LAMS Chorale for the past season. He
will graduate from Lincoln Community High School in May and attend
Bradley University in the fall where he will sing in the a capella
choir.
The Spring Concert was sponsored by ME Realty, Culver’s of Lincoln,
Eaton Corporation, Heartland Bank, and Heritage Packaging, as well
as many community patrons and other local businesses. LAMS is
composed entirely of volunteers, and both the orchestra and the
chorale welcome new members. Rehearsals for the winter season begin
in the fall. Please contact lincolnareamusicsociety@gmail.com for
more information. Be sure to mark your calendars for the Summer Band
Concerts at Latham Park at 7 p.m. on June 1, 8, 22, and 29, 2025.
[Stephanie Hall]
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