The Mercer County Symphonic Band will present its annual Winter Concert on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. at the Kelsey Theatre.
The program will feature contemporary band music, galops, seasonal favorites and traditional marches. Contemporary selections include “Imperatrix,” by Alfred Reed, “River of Life,” by Steven Reineke and a medley from “Cats,” by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Three galops will be performed: Aram Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance,” Dmitri Kabalevsky’s “Commedian’s Galop,” and Warren Barker’s “A Galop to End All Galops.” Seasonal favorites include Reed’s “Russian Christmas Music,” Leroy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival,” and a new seasonal sing along based on Robert Sheldon’s “A Most Wonderful Christmas.” Marches include Julius Fucik’s “The Florentiner” and John Phillip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Directed by Dr. Lou Woodruff, the Mercer County Symphonic Band is celebrating its 34th season with sixty participating musicians. Dr. Woodruff, who is completing his fourteenth year as the Band’s Director also teaches Psychology at Bucks County Community College and serves on the Governing Board of the National College Testing Association. Joining him at the podium are Gary Suabedissen, who plays flute, and Michael Grothman on trumpet.
The Mercer County Symphonic Band is supported by the Arts and Communication Division of Mercer County Community College, with funding from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission, through a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The Mercer County Symphonic Band is open to all interested musicians without audition. For more information, contact the Director, Dr. Lou Woodruff, by e-mail at woodruff@bucks.edu or by phone at 947-4040, or visit mercerband.org.
