What're you playing on the 4th?

[druby]

For the last 24 years, I have played the 4th at the Mt.Washington Hotel with the New England Wind Symphony. Thius year the Mt.Washington is replanting their grass so they are not holding the concert...something about the ski lodeg and a 3 piece country western band....(ugh!)

So instead,Iplayed Saturday in the Ayer, MA.festivities with the Nashoba community Band (formerly Harvard Town Band) and I will play the 4th with the Lowell Summer Concert Band on the Merrimack river.

I play euph...my Connstellation in the Ayer band and my Sovereign in the Lowell band. Both concerts are the standard patriotic "Pops Concert" format...ending with America the Beautiful (Carmen Dragon), 1812, and Stars and Stripes.

BTW, I first playd the Carmen Dragon arrangement of America the Beautiful in my county Honor Band in 1968 directed by (yup) Carmen Dragon. I no longer use the music for that number or for Stars and Stripes, having memorized the part at least 25 years ago...

Doug "playing euphfor my 25th New England 4th of July pops concert" Ruby
Boosey&Hawkes Sovereign 967S (1980)
Conn Connstellation 24I (1968)
Holton 5-valve double bell (1942)
Pan American 56I (1932)

[gregsundt]

I don't want to get too nostalgic here, but I played my first patriotic program in years last Thursday, including 1812 with cannons, lots of Sousa, National Emblem, etc. It was a blast, even though I am still playing a borrowed instrument (St Pete, in this case). Nice to discover I can still carry an 80-piece band.

[Lew]

Dogwood Dell in Richmond, as usual, in front of about 30,000 indifferent people waiting for the fireworks. End with the 1812 with the VA National Guard providing the cannons and the park carillon supplying the chimes, and then Stars and Stripes.

We will also be playing some music for the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown including "The Return of Captain John Smith" a cornet/tuba "duel" with me on my Eb sousaphone. Unfortunately the cornet always wins .