Vance-Granville Community Band performs at Oxford and Butner events
The Vance-Granville Community Band, under the leadership of its new conductor, Brian D. Miller, recently performed at two community events in Granville County, where other representatives of the college were involved as well.
The band performed on Saturday, Sept. 3, for the bicentennial celebration of the city of Oxford. The group played on the historic Hix Field, behind the original Oxford High School, now the city hall of Oxford. Pieces performed included patriotic and traditional band music, including John Philip Sousa’s 1918 transcription of the National Anthem, “Columbia The Gem of the Ocean,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Sweet and Low,” “Daisy Bell,” “The Band Played On,” “Loch Lomond,” “The Man on the Flying Trapeze,” “Finlandia,” “God of Our Fathers,” “The Old Folks At Home,” “My Old Kentucky Home” and “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,” among other short songs.
The event also featured the Culinary Arts department from VGCC. Students in the program baked and decorated a huge (approximately 3.5 by 5.5-foot) cake for the community event at the request of the Bicentennial Committee and Christine Sims, director of Oxford Parks and Recreation. The goal was to have enough “birthday cake” for the entire community, which they succeeded in accomplishing – with a small amount of cake to spare. Chef Teresa Davis said, “It was an exciting honor for Vance-Granville Community College to help in celebrating such a wonderful, educational event!”
On Saturday, Sept. 17, the Vance-Granville Community Band performed for the Veterans’ Stand Down Event in Butner at the National Guard Armory. This event, the first of its kind in the area, was sponsored by the Granville County Veterans’ Affairs Committee and supported by many local area businesses. In addition to some of the music that had been performed at the Oxford event, the band presented a medley of Armed Forces songs, the World War I hit, “It’s A Long, Long Way To Tipperary,” and Sousa’s seldom-heard march, “Riders For The Flag,” as a tribute to the local veterans.
The VGCC Financial Aid Office also participated in the event to provide information to veterans on using their educational benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs .
The Community Band, which is sponsored by the VGCC Division of Arts and Sciences, includes people of all ages, from all walks of life, and from throughout the region. No auditions are required. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings at the Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center, on the Main Campus in Henderson, at Exit 209 on Interstate 85 (Poplar Creek Road). Students have the option of taking the Monday evening course, “Band I” ( MUS 133 ), for college credit while playing in the Community Band.
The band is currently preparing for a winter concert, to be held on Monday, Dec. 5, at McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in downtown Henderson.
For more information, contact Brian Miller at bmiller9302@vgcc.edu or Betsy Henderson at hendersonb@vgcc.edu .
Above: The Vance-Granville Community Band performs at the Veterans’ Stand Down event in Butner on September 17. (Photo courtesy of Anne Williams)
Above: From left, VGCC Culinary Arts students Kenneth Underwood, Jesse Howell, Shirley Bennett, Tyneshia Brackett and program head/instructor, Chef Teresa Davis, pose with the cake the students made for the Oxford bicentennial.
