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Great Bend Municipal Band to celebrate summer Thursday
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The Great Bend Municipal Band performs in this photo from June 2. - photo by File photo by Susan Thacker

The summer solstice is fast approaching, and this week’s  Great Bend Municipal Band concert will celebrate the joys of the season. 

The program starts at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, June 16, at the band shell on the south side of the Barton County Courthouse.

Director Grant Mathews said marches arranged by Karl King will open and close the concert, starting with “Royal March” and ending with “Peacemaker.”

Mathews said this week’s concert will celebrate “the exuberance of summer and the joy we find in our lives,” with the tunes “Joyance”  and “Our Kingsland Spring.” Those will be followed by a Glenn Miller classic,  “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” and an entertaining percussion piece called “Mystic Battle.”

Audience members can also expect patriotic music and even some hits by The Beatles.

Around 35 musicians are playing in the band this season, Mathews said. 

They rehearse at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and then move to the band shell for the 8:15 p.m. concert.

“A typical program has marches, patriotic and folk song melodies, movie music, popular music melodies, something that evokes community spirit, pieces that tell a story, or tunes that are just for fun,” Mathews said. “It should be a fun, energetic, emotional journey for the audience where they can sit back and enjoy the music, think back on fond memories, and learn a few tidbits along the way.”

Other concerts this month are scheduled for June 23 and June 30.