Author: Palmetto Concert Band

Concert, Event

SOUSA!

by Palmetto Concert Band

Sousa! - Palmetto Concert BandWhat more is there to say? The name “Sousa” invokes joy in many across this country. The famed composer of so many well-known marches gets those toes tapping with seemingly little effort. John Philip Sousa became a musical legend within his lifetime thanks to his iconic marches.

Perhaps lesser known is the history of Sousa: his conducting style, concert format, and his band’s distinct sound. Concerts from that era differed greatly from our modern concert format and performance. With the help of famed Sousa impersonator, Keith Brion, the Palmetto Concert Band aims to bring the experience of attending a 1930’s Sousa Band concert to the Koger Center stage.

We invite you to join us for this special concert, which will feature solo performances by Scott Parker (euphonium), Tina Stallard (soprano), and Betty Gardiner (piccolo). As always, the concert is free and open to the public. Tickets are General Admission. Follow our Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates. Visit our Performances page more information about the concert and repertoire.

Concert

America the Beautiful

by Palmetto Concert Band

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The Palmetto Concert Band is pleased to be presenting our final performance of this season, “America the Beautiful: A Concert for Memorial Day” on Sunday, May 27. This concert will feature works representative of locations across the country, “from sea to shining sea”! In addition to using music to honor those servicemen and women who gave their lives in service of this great nation, we will also perform a piece in recognition of our recently departed founder and Director Emeritus, Dr. William (Bill) Moody.

This performance will be held at the Koger Center for the Arts on Sunday, May 27 at 4:00 PM. As always, it is free and open to the public. Seating is General Admission, so plan to arrive early.

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Dr. Moody

by Palmetto Concert Band

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dr. William (Bill) Moody, Conductor Emeritus and co-founder of the PCB. His influence was widespread in the music world, especially through his 17 years of teaching at the University of South Carolina. He will be greatly missed.

Thank you for everything, Dr. Moody. #forevertothee🎼

Concert

The Firebird

by Palmetto Concert Band

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Our band members are hard at work to prepare for our next concert! Coming up on February 10, 2018, we will be pleased to present to our Columbia audience (and then some!) Stravinksky’s The Firebird, Suite 1919.

The Firebird, a suite originally written for full orchestra as a ballet, was rescored by Stravinsky a few years later for Symphonic Winds. This iconic literature weaves a story of Prince Ivan encountering monsters, falling in love with a princess, and befriending the mythical firebird whose lullabye can put the most evil beasts to rest. For a more in-depth explanation of the music and story, we encourage checking out this educational video from KhanAcademy:

In addition to The Firebird, we will also present several more engaging and well known pieces of music:

  • Also Sprach Zarathustra, Introduction by Richard Strauss/trans. Mark Rogers
  • The Planets, 1st Movement – Mars by Gustav Holst
  • A KLEZMER Tribute by Eric Richards
  • Four Scottish Dances by Malcolm Arnold/arr. Paynter;

This concert will be performed on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 7:30 PM at the Koger Center for the Arts as part of the 40th Annual USC Band Clinic. This event  is free and open to the public. The performance is general admission, so plan to arrive early for prime seating!

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Special Guest Conductor Announced

by Palmetto Concert Band

We are pleased to announce our “Nominate a Veteran” conductor for this year’s Memorial Day Concert:

David Eelman, nominated by his friend, Hal Mcintosh, is a retired Army Bandsman who served 20 years in active duty as a tuba player, euphonium player, vocalist, and staff conductor with the 8th Infantry Division Band, 2nd Infantry Division Band, Eighth Army Band, U.S. Army Signal Corps Band, and Fort Jackson’s own 282nd Army Band. He retired in 2006 at the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Mr. Eelman holds a Master of Music degree in Conducting and Church Music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from William Paterson University.

He currently performs with the Lexington County Choral Society, the USC Summer Chorus, the Carolina Wind Symphony, and as a freelance tuba player in the Columbia-Lexington area.

Congratulations, Mr. Eelman! We look forward to having you conduct the PCB at our Memorial Day Concert on May 29th.

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American Salute!

by Palmetto Concert Band

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It’s nearly time for our season-closing Memorial Day Concert on Monday, May 29. Nominations are still open for conducting the PCB in the playing of Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever” on stage at the Koger Center. Be sure to recommend a veteran (no conducting experience required!) before the deadline on Friday, May 19. Click here to nominate someone today!

Please come out and join us as we honor — through music — our country’s fallen soldiers this Memorial Day.

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February Double Header

by Palmetto Concert Band

Our band members have jumped back into rehearsals to bring the Columbia area not one but two concerts back-to-back weekends this February!

For our first concert this month, we are pleased and honored to have been invited to perform the finale concert at the South Carolina Music Educators Association’s conference held annually at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. The performance will begin at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the USC Alumni Center. This performance is free and open to the public.

Can’t make it that Saturday? Not to worry! We will perform the same works again the next Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 7:30 PM as part of the USC Band Clinic. This performance brings us back to our “home venue” at the Koger Center for the Arts. This concert is also free and open to the public. The performance is general admission, so plan to arrive early for prime seating!

Both of these performances will feature only four pieces of music, but quality in this case far surpasses quantity! The PCB will open with Overture to “Candide”  by Leonard Bernstein (trans. Grundman), followed by our encore performance of Vaclav Nelhybel’s Trittico. Next up are the six musical portraits that make up Percy Aldridge Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy. We will close the concert with none other than Russian Christmas Music by Alfred Reed.