The Moorestown Community Band’s “Clarinet Army,” with Countryside Elementary School mascot Clyde.
The Moorestown Community Band’s 35th anniversary concert will be held at the William Allen Middle School auditorium on Friday at 7 p.m.
The band’s Voices of America program asks an important question through music: Who is America today?
“That’s really where I started this,” said music director Michelle Gergich, “and where we’ve ended up in this concert is representing several different diverse groups that you find in our country, in our communities.”
The program is not meant to be political, Gergich explained, but to celebrate American identity. There will be music for guests that participants can connect with and something that’s going to challenge them in a positive way.
“I think it’s important for us to do this work – especially in today’s climate – to see our neighbors and connect with our neighbors on a human level and recognize who we are as a people and take politics out of this,” Gergich said. “It is a celebration of people and who we are as a country.”
The Moorestown Community Band’s anniversary concert will include “American Visions” composed by Travis J. Weller, based on “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”; “Rozana,” by Indian American composer Reena Esmail; “Mi Vecino (My Neighbor)” composed by Michele Fernandez; “Grandmother Song,” an introduction to the Mohican tradition of “sung syllables,” or what Native Americans call “Vocables,” by Indigenous (Mohican) composer Brent Michael Davids; “Red White and Jersey,” co-written by Jon Bon Jovi, arranged by Gergich; “Symphonic Stories” composed by Chris Bernotas; “Fragile,” composed by Randall Standridge, a piece that focuses on mental health; “Homeward Bound” by Marta Keen and Grant Kerrick, a piece often associated with veterans coming home; and “Capital City,” written by Emanuel Martinez, a band member.
The group is also collaborating with the Moorestown Community Choir, which was formed especially for the evening and will feature singers from several local churches. A display of the band’s history will also be available in the middle school’s lobby during the show. Admission is free and open to the public.
The band will be on the town for the rest of their season, performing at both Moorestown’s Strawberry and blueberry festivals and the Department of Parks and Recreation’s annual summer concert series. The musicians will also participate in The College of New Jersey’s Artivism Project, a year-long initiative centered on exploring, understanding and sharing joy through creative, cross-disciplinary practice.
To keep up with the Moorestown Community Band, visit its website or social media.
