gglassmeyer

I went to see the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra play the 1812 with cannons back in the summer of 1996. They played in an outdoor venue along the Ohio river. We brought a blanket and picnic dinner and our 6 month old daughter who fell asleep during the concert. Of course she woke up at the finale as they saved the 1812 for last . No sense blowing out people eardrums at the beginning of a concert. I'm sure my daughter is scarred for life, wait a minute I KNOW shes scarred for life she plays percussion in her school band.

Is there a version of the 1812 written for concert band, or just orchestra.

I know we've done the Festive Overture and it's definitely one worth repeating.

We also had David Shaffer guest conduct a new piece he'd written to honor on of his former students at Miami University (Ohio) who had been killed in Iraq. The piece is entitled Purple Heart and it was great to have the composer there to share this young mans story.

The Black Granite piece I mentioned above is relatively new and is awesome, I highly recommend it. It's also a memorial and is named for the black granite wall listing the names of the US service men killed or missing in Vietnam.