Troy Community Band to celebrate America’s 250 on June 27
By Tribune Staff • The Troy Community Band will celebrate America 250 with their upcoming concert, “A Musical Tour Through American History” on Saturday, June 27 at 7 p.m. at St Paul’s Lutheran Church School on 112 N. Border St.
The performance marks the second concert with the band’s new director, Dennis Meyer of Godfrey, Ill, on the Troy Community Band podium. The concert also features guest vocalist Donald Stratton of Granite City, Ill.
Designed as a musical journey across centuries, the program highlights the sounds that defined America’s past. Meyer states that “each piece showcases the popular music of that time period,” referring to various periods in America’s history from the 1700s to modern pop music.
Concert-goers will be taken back to the 1700s with “Chester,” a well-known American Revolutionary War anthem, before moving through the evolving sounds of the nation. Audiences will hear selections inspired by dance bands and stage music once performed by popular American artists like Frank Sinatra and George Gershwin.
“That’s a Plenty” is a ragtime hit from 1914. The Troy Community Band arrangement highlights a brass quintet with concert band accompaniment.
Listeners will be transported to the big screen with “An Irish Party in Third Class,” recalling the classic 1997 movie “Titanic.”
The concert concludes with a stirring finale as Donald Stratton joins the band on vocals for Barry Manilow’s “Let Freedom Ring.”
The band consists of nearly 80 members from across the Metro East and St. Louis area, offering free public performances to the surrounding communities. Band members come from all walks of life — from middle school students to retirees — united by a shared love of music and community.
