MCC Wind and Jazz Ensembles to Perform April 13

Wind Ensemble Flutists

The Muskegon Community College Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble will perform on Wednesday, April 13, at 8 p.m. in Overbrook Theater as part of the College’s Arts and Humanities Department Open House.  All events are free and open to the public.

The Wind Ensemble, directed by Daniel M. Meyers, will perform four selections. Following a brief intermission, the Jazz Ensemble, directed by Tim Froncek, will play two pieces.

The Wind Ensemble will perform:

  • “The Black Horse Troop” by John Philip Sousa, edited by Frederick Fennell. Sousa’s love of horses and the military combine in one of his greatest and most elegant marches, a 1924 work dedicated to Troop A (Cavalry) of the Cleveland National Guard.
  • “Irish Tune from County Derry” by Percy Grainger. A now-famous tune from the Irish county of Derry in the north, also sometimes called Londonderry. This classic arrangement features beautiful, delicate part-writing for both woodwinds and brass, highlighting each family in turn.
  • “Amparito Roca” by Jaime Texidor. A pasodoble and one of the better known pieces of Spanish music around the world, the piece was composed in 1925 by Spanish musician and composer Jaime Teixidor, who named it after one of his piano students.
  • “Mars, the Bringer of War” by Gustav Holst, edited by Alfred Reed. The first movement of a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst.

The Jazz Ensemble selections are:

  • “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” by Joe Zawinul. Written in 1966 for Julian “Cannonball” Adderley and his album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at ‘The Club’. The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit. It went to #2 on the Soul chart and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The Buckinghams added lyrics and reached #5 with it in 1967.
  • “C Jam Blues” by Duke Ellington. A jazz standard composed in 1942 by Duke Ellington and performed by countless other musicians, such as Dave Grusin, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Peterson, and Charles Mingus. As the title suggests, the piece follows a twelve-bar blues form in the key of C major.

Check out the full list of Open House events at: http://bit.ly/1MQf1zY