October 8, 2019

October 8, 2019 – On November 7, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. in the Northland Community & Technical College Theatre in Thief River Falls, instrumental performers from the area will take the stage to entertain with a variety of music. The performing groups slated for the evening’s entertainment are the Northland High School Honor Band, made up of over 90 of the top instrumental students from the area and the Northland Community Band (NCB). The ensembles and event are under the direction of Northland Music Instructor, Linda Samuelson.

The first group on the stage will be the Northland Community Band. Our focus for this concert is the moon landing which happened 50 years ago on July 20, 1969, and our pieces will reflect which include titles like the 1960s doo-wop hit, “Blue Moon,” and the hauntingly beautiful piece by Steven Bryant, “Dusk.” The NCB will also play two pieces written as part of the collection titled Seas of the Moon written by Robert Buckley; the opening and closing numbers from that selection are “Sea of Tranquility,” and “Serpent Sea.” The last two pieces are more novelty in nature but tie into the moon well, if you consider the antics that tend to abound during the time of the full moon which we acknowledge with the title “Clown Act,” by Thomas Kahelin and the impact that full moon can have on our four-legged friends as will be found in “That Old Hound Dog Rag” by Randall Standridge.

The final group on the program is Northland’s High School Honor Band. The thirteen area schools attending this year’s high school festival and their directors are: Fisher – Shawn Coleman; Goodridge – Lorrisa Skalsky; Grygla/Gatzke – Gene Lunsetter; Lancaster – Julie Nordin; Lincoln High School – Katie Hahn; Mahnomen – Jill Bisek; Marshall County Central – Shane Baesler; Red Lake Falls – Lacie Hovland; Stephen-Argyle Central – Nathan Dalager; Tri-County HS – Brad Thompson; Warren-Alvarado-Oslo – Molly Fridstrom; Win-E-Mac – Christina Prince; and Warroad – Elijah Beaudine. Together these 13 schools are bringing over 90 participants to Northland to share in a day of music making.

Preceding this concert is a day of rehearsal for the HS Honor Band. The students participating in the Honor Band were nominated by their directors. The student’s full day of rehearsing will culminate at the Fall Band Concert. The Festival begins at 10:00 a.m. with full group rehearsals, which will occupy most of the student’s time. The Honor Band will be rehearsing and performing four or five pieces to be selected from the following: “The Cluster, Bluster, Fluster March” by David Holsinger; “One Small Step” by Michael Oare referencing the words spoken by Neil Armstrong; Victor Lopez’s “Under the Rice Moon” written about the full, white moon of winter; “Moon Phases 81” that Scott Director wrote to celebrate the new moon to the full moon and back again; and the classic “Moon River”, from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Admission for the Fall Band Concert to be held at Northland on Nov.7 at 7:00 p.m. is $5.00 and doors will open at 6:30 for the general admission seating. For more information, you can contact Linda Samuelson, Music Instructor, at 218-683-8717 or by email at linda.samuelson@northlandcollege.edu.