VGCC Community Band presents spring concert
The Vance-Granville Community Band took its audience on a journey that was not only musical but also geographical and historical at its recent Spring Concert on March 7. The program, billed as “Music from English Pageantry to the American Civil War,” was held in the Civic Center on the college’s main campus in Vance County.
Under the direction of VGCC music instructor Michael Stephenson, the band started off with a British march, “The Spirit of Pageantry” by Percy Fletcher. That piece was followed by “English Folk Song Suite” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, with J.F. Webb High School band director Clint McCaskill as the guest conductor. Stephenson thanked McCaskill, who also plays clarinet in the community band, for supporting the group since its inception. An Austrian piece, “Clear Track Polka” by Eduard Strauss, was next on the program. Then, the band traveled back to this side of the Atlantic Ocean with a work by contemporary American composer Eric Whitacre. The piece, “October,” was performed in memory of former band member Marty Barnett, who passed away in December. Barnett, a saxophonist, was an original member of the band who was dedicated and contributed to the group in many ways, according to Stephenson. A chair in the saxophone section on stage was left empty in Barnett’s memory. The band rounded out the program with “American Civil War Fantasy,” composer Jerry Bilik’s work that incorporates several songs from the Civil War era, and finally ended in Latin America with “La Bamba de Vera Cruz” by Terig Tucci.
Stephenson said that the community band would be busy in coming months. It is scheduled to host the North Carolina Community Band Festival at the VGCC Civic Center on April 10. On Sunday, May 9, the band plans to hold its second annual outdoor Mother’s Day concert at the gazebo on the college’s main campus. Formed in 2008, the community band is a combination of students and interested citizens. All four counties of the VGCC service area (Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin) are represented in the band, which has grown to approximately 50 members. For more information, call Michael Stephenson at (252) 738-3346.
Above: The saxophone section of the Vance-Granville Community Band, seen here, included an empty chair in memory of former band member Marty Barnett at the band’s spring concert on March 7. (VGCC photo)
