Harper Band to take stage Sunday

Once again, the legacy of award-winning band director Capt. James C. Harper will be on display as the Harper Concert Band takes the stage Sunday.

The band has been performing for about two and a half years, and its concerts always bring out band-music lovers.

This concert will be no exception as the selections will have wide-range appeal. The music will include a diverse selection of compositions of well-known composers including Beethoven, Gershwin and Wagner.

“It's got a lot of variety,” said John Craig, the band's director.

Craig, along with Camilla Graeber, will direct the adult band throughout the concert.

One of the things that makes the Harper Concert Band special is that the band is made up of adults who have a love and interest in not only the band but the community as well.

“They bring an opportunity for adults to play in a very high-quality performing group,” said Janet Bloom, executive director of the James C. Harper School of Performing Arts. “It's also a good opportunity for our community to see how the Harper School functions in providing music education for all ages.”

Like the school, the band functions on a semester schedule, and the group of adults began practicing for Sunday's concert in January.

“This one is hard,” Craig said. “It's really pushing the group, but it's coming along nicely, and we should be ready by Sunday.”

The selections will include classical pieces, marches, selections from the musical “Porgy and Bess” and the Harlem Nocturne, which is more familiar to people known as the theme from the Mickey Spillane “Mike Hammer” movies.

The concert will feature a number of solos including Jerry Books and Ann Vaughan, on alto sax; and Kevin Townsend on trumpet.

“I always like to see the enthusiasm that this group brings to the performance,” said Bloom. “They always do music that is very popular.”

Bloom and Craig both are looking forward to seeing familiar faces in the crowd as well as meeting new friends who attend the concert for the first time.

“I'm looking forward to seeing those faces out there who have been very good about attending out concerts, and watching their expression and hearing their applause,” Bloom said. “It's always good to see those people there.”

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