2017 Great Bend City Band schedule:
This year, the Great Bend Municipal Band will perform eight concerts, all starting at 8:15 p.m. and all in the Clayton L. Moses Memorial Band Shell in the courthouse square. These will all be on Thursday night, except for two concerts on Tuesday nights, July 4 and 18.
In addition, the band’s jazz ensemble will give a concert on Friday, June 30.
In years past, when the evening temperatures became too hot or there was rain, the concerts would move into the Crest Theater across the street. However, that venue is unavailable this year due to the heating and air conditioning system being out of order. So, all concerts will be outdoors and a decision will be made by 7:15 should cancelation be necessary.
The opening concert of the 2017 Great Bend Municipal Band on Thursday night will mark a special occasion made more meaningful by the recent improvements to Jack Kilby Square. It will mark the 90th anniversary and rededication of the Clayton L. Moses Memorial Band Shell, which was at the heart of the renovations in the popular city park.
The performance will begin at 8:15 p.m. at the band shell on what is now called the Thelma Faye Harms Stage. The stage name honors the $300,000 gift from the Harms Trust that paid for the lion’s share of the project.
“We want to highlight the past and look to the future,” Band Director Steve Lueth said, adding some of the musical pieces on the program were played at the original 1927 dedication. “I am trying to get the flavor of that original concert.”
The musicians will perform traditional and patriotic music, as well as an original composition, “The Courthouse Square March,” written by Lueth. He has also arranged other pieces for the ensemble.
“We see this as a very positive event,” said Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes. Great Bend City Administrator Howard Partington, Mayor Mike Allison and City Council members will be in attendance.
Bottled water furnished by members of the Order of Eastern Star and popcorn will also be available.
Highlights for the concert include:
• “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key
• Presentation of the Colors – Sons of the Plains Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution
• “Ceremony of Allegiance” by Don Gillis and narrated by Vern Fryberger
• “Auld Lang Syne” (originally performed at the 1927 dedication) by Robert Burns set to a traditional folk song and arranged by Lueth.
• Historical narrative of Great Bend City Band directors by Joe Boley, band historian
• “The Pals” by George D. Barnard and arranged by Lueth with a duet by Marc Webster on trumpet and Katie Sperry on alto saxophone
• The world premiere of Lueth’s original composition. “The Courthouse Square March”
• “Serenade for a Picket Fence” by Norman Leyden with a xylophone trio by Kurtis Koch, Debbie Koch and Taylor Clark.
• “Pride of Great Bend March” (originally performed at the 1927 dedication) by Domingo Scotti and arranged by Lueth
• There will also be patriotic music with concert ending with the march “On the Mall” by Edwin Franko Goldman
The municipal band dates back to 1875 when Creed Rankin and Fred Miller organized a brass band to help celebrate the county-wide Fourth of July celebration in Great Bend. It evolved from a band sponsored by local merchants as a method of advertising to being the city band.
The band shell was first dedicated in May 1927. The band shell improvements included an expansion of stage, and better accessibility for performers and the handicapped.
In addition, the courthouse square project featured the installation of a splash pad, new brick work and landscaping and the reworking of the benches,
