On March 7 the North Shore Music Association will present the Lake Wobegon® Brass Band, a traditional British band ensemble whose mission is “To promote British band music throughout the Midwest of the United States.” The concert, held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church (417 1st Ave. West) will begin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will be for sale (cash or check) at the venue starting at 6:30 p.m.
On a Saturday morning in early 1992 at the Anoka Coffee Shop, the idea for the Lake Wobegon® Brass Band was conceived of by three musicians, two of whom had attended the 1991 North American Brass Band Association National Contest in Iowa. Brass players were called, Charles Olson was asked to become the group’s conductor and music director, and hometown hero Garrison Keillor was contacted regarding the band’s assuming the name. His reply was, “I’m happy to give my permission. The only condition is that you will let me know when the band is formed… and that at some mutually convenient time, you’ll play at a picnic for me. Good Luck.”
Over the past quarter century, the thirty-member brass ensemble has toured the U.S. and England, performing concerts and at educators’ conferences. The group’s current conductor, Michael Halstenson, is also a prolific composer whose works have been performed by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and by groups at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center. His “Winter Trilogy” has been broadcast over Minnesota Public Radio.
In Grand Marais, the Lake Wobegon® Brass Band will perform works including “March Bravura” by William Himes, “Over the Rainbow” featuring E-flat tuba soloist Dr. Gary Bird, “Purpose” by Paul Sharman, “Arctic Funk” by Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen- Nilsen, and “Pilgrim’s Progress” by Philip Wilby. They will also present U.S. brass band premieres of new pieces: “Cheers!” by Jack Stamp; “Dark Sky!” by Michael Halstenson, featuring Grand Marais euphonium soloist Eric Anderson; an adaptation of Leonard Bernstein’s “Three Dance Episodes,” transcribed for brass band by Michael Serber; and a medley of “Blue Skies,” by Irving Berlin, and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” by George and Ira Gershwin, arranged for brass band and singer Lori Towner by Jack Stamp.
This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to appropriations from the Minnesota State Legislature’s General Fund.
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