I play saxophone in the Charlottesville Municipal Band, specifically tenor saxophone. I found the band after moving to Charlottesville in 2006. I waited until January of 2007 to join though as I didn’t get settled in at my job until late October and it’s always easier to join a group right after a concert. So we attended the 2006 Holiday Concert and in 2007 I became a member.
There are almost 90 people in the band but overall I find the instrumentation quite well balanced. We have a decent rhythm section, and I believe as many as 5 tuba/euphonium players. The sax section seems to hover around the size it should be. If we are short saxes then there’s a clarinetist or two who can help us out, and if we have too many, we can send them back to the clarinets. 😉
We play around 10 concerts a year with 7 in the months of June, July and August. This weekend, being July 4th, the band is playing a lot of Partriotic music. We have a concert tomorrow evening starting at 7:30 in the Pavilion downtown. If anyone is going, let me know, there is free parking available at the Lexis Nexus just off of Market St: http://tinyurl.com/bandparking
We also play music before the annual Naturalization (citizenship) ceremony held every year on July 4th at Jefferson’s Monticello. Last year the (then) president of the US was the guest speaker. The band had to be on the bus to the site at 6am, had to pass through the metal detectors and was surrounded by secret service the whole time. This year the guest speaker is Virginia Congressman, Tom Periello, and the band’s bus doesn’t leave until 8:30 am.
The next two concerts should provide All the patriotic music anyone could ever want…Â (and then some?)
Thunderer
Days of Glory
Irving Berlin’s songs for America
El Capitan
King Cotton
American Anthem – Tuesday Folder
Fairest of the Fair – Jim Simmons conducting
Semper Fidelis
Armed Forces Salute – Tuesday Folder
Washington Post – Tuesday Folder
Albemarle Overture – Tuesday Folder
March Independentia
Americana Two Step
Westerner
Men Of Ohio
America the Beautiful
Stars and Stripes
