SEQUIM — The Sequim City Band will perform an outdoor concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at the James Center for the Performing Arts.
The free concert will be in the center adjacent to Carrie Blake Park, off North Blake Avenue.
Under the leadership of director Tyler Benedict, the group will pay homage to national heritage with “Themes Like Americana.”
Attendees are invited to bring lawn chairs, blankets, hats and weather-appropriate gear to the James Center bandshell in Carrie Blake Park and enjoy an afternoon of Americana.
One of the featured performers will be singer Joel Yelland who steps out of the percussion section to lead the band in “Irish Songs For Solo and Band.”
This trio of Gaelic tunes salutes Irish-American heritage with a lullaby titled “Deirin De.”
“Jug of Punch” is a playful ode to the carefree life and the companionship of the drink. In closing is the immortal ballad “Danny Boy.”
American music has had many influences and styles have changed with the decades.
Beginning with the early 1900s, the band will perform a medley called “Themes Like Old Times.”
These are Americana classics such as “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” by Irving Berlin and “I Want a Girl Just Like the One That Married Dear Old Dad,” which were the two most popular tunes of 1911.
“Peg O My Heart” was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1913, as was “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” in 1909. The “Twelfth Street Rag” by E. Bowman was written in 1914 but became more popular after Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1927.
John Philip Sousa was in his heyday in the early 1900s and his march, “The Gallant Seventh,” hails from 1922. It was composed in honor of the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard, who had one of the most famous bands in the New York City area at the time.
Their conductor, Francis Sutherland, was one of Sousa’s cornet players.
In 1927, George and Ira Gershwin wrote music for a political satire called “Strike Up the Band.” This comical stage production poked fun at the country’s going to war over a trivial trade issue.
The title song was given by the Gershwins to UCLA in 1936 and has become one of the school songs.
Despite the same name, the 1940 movie starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland had no relation to the stage production.
In the 1930s and ’40s, jazz and Big Band styles were all the rage. “Duke Ellington In Concert” is a medley paying tribute to the legendary American composer, pianist and band leader.
This includes his signature tunes of “Take the A Train,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” “Mood Indigo,” “Caravan” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing.”
“Highlights From ‘Jersey Boys’ ” brings the listener to the mid-century. The hit Broadway musical takes a nostalgic look at some of the most popular songs of the ’60s while showcasing the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Included are “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Rag Doll.”
Also written in 1964 but in a very different style is “Declaration Overture” by Claude T. Smith.
Dedicated to the composer’s wife Maureen, this is a showy concert band overture with a powerful fanfare opening, plenty of percussion challenges and a trumpet solo.
“A Hymn For Band” by Hugh Stuart was composed in 1985. It is a beautiful, reverent piece with a simple dignity, smooth, flowing melodies and a dramatic conclusion.
Guest announcer for this concert is musician Beth Pratt, president of the Sequim Community Orchestra Board.
For information about the band or to become a “Band-Aide,” go to www.sequimcityband.org.
