Richmond Community Orchestra - Indiana

Monday, June 10 * 7:00 p.m.
Glen Miller Park Bandshell
2200 E. Main St., Richmond

Rain date: June 17

Bring a chair, blanket, a picnic – or all three!
The RCO closes out its 2023-24 season with a collection of fun popular music and light classics.

We are grateful for recent support from the
A. THEODORE & MARCELINE S. HALSTEAD
DONOR ADVISED FUND

It’s about Time – Arr. Michael Story
This medley of three pop songs has numbers that relate to time. First up is Gershwin’s “Summertime” from his opera Porgy and Bess, followed by “As Time Goes By,” written by Herman Hupfeld and used in the classic movie Casablanca. We end with a more modern tune – “Time after Time” written by Rob Hyman and Cyndi Lauper in 1983. Even though that is 41 years ago, it is “new” for an orchestra.

Grand March from AIDA – Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901); arr. Richard Ling
This opera was first performed on Christmas Eve 1871 for the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt. In the opera, after the Egyptians defeat Ethiopia, they march the spoils back to Egypt, including Princess Aida. Many times when this opera is performed, horses and exotic animals are paraded across the stage – including elephants.

Tico Tico no fuba’ – Zequinha de Abreu (1880-1935) 
The title translates to “rufous-collared sparrow in the cornmeal.” This Brazilian song was written in 1917.

Marche Slave – Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893); arr. C. Paul Herfurth
“Marche Slave” (pronounced “slav”) is really a Slavonic march, not Russian. In 1876 during the war between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire, Tchaikovsky was asked to write this piece to benefit the Red Cross Society.

Pie in the Face Polka – Henry Mancini (1924-1994)
This lively piece was composed for the 1965 movie The Great Race, written and directed by Blake Edwards. The pie-fight scene took five days to shoot and cost $200,000, of which $18,000 went toward 4,000 pies. Shooting lasted over a weekend, and every detail of pie on set and costumes had to be recreated each day. When Edwards finally yelled “Cut!” he was hit by 200 pies hidden by the cast and crew. The 1927 film The Battle of the Century with Laurel and Hardy used 3,000 pies in one day of shooting.

The Sea Hawk – Erich Korngold (1897-1957); arr. by Jerry Brubaker
This suite comes from the movie of the same name written in 1940. Korngold was an Austrian-born composer who came to the U.S. in 1934, fleeing the rise of the Nazi regime. Korngold was a serious composer in pre-war Europe yet is more known for his Hollywood film scores, especially swashbucklers like The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Tahiti Trot – Vincent Youmans; orchestrated by Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975); arr. by Jerry Brubaker
You will recognize the tune as “Tea for Two” written in 1926 for the musical No, No, Nanette.  The Russian composer Shostakovich was challenged by the conductor Nickolai Malko to orchestrate this pop tune in under an hour. He did it in 40-45 minutes.

Irving Berlin’s America – Arr. by Roger Emerson and Paul Murtha
We close with a medley of some of Irving Berlin’s (1888-1989) most famous songs: “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Puttin’ On the Ritz,” “Blue Skies,” “Always,” and “God Bless America.”

Sound engineer for tonight’s concert: Jeff Templeton

RCO &
Eaton Community Chorus

Sunday, May 5 * 3:30 p.m.
Eaton Performing Arts Center
Eaton, Ohio

“The Star-Spangled Banner” – John Stanford Smith/Francis Scott Key (1814)

“Homeward Bound“ – Marta Keen
This heartfelt piece is elegant in its simplicity and memorable in its warmth and sincerity.  It was sung by the combined Eaton High School Chorus and the EACC at the dedication of the Eaton Performing Arts Center in 2013.

“De Colores“
A traditional Mexican folk song, “De Colores” translates as “in colors” and celebrates the colors of spring.  This folk song dates back to the 16^th century.  Happy Cinco de Mayo!

“Catch a Falling Star” – Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss
This 1950’s classic was made famous by Perry Como, who won a Grammy in 1959 for Best Vocal Performance, Male.  This was the first year for the Grammys.  The duo of Vance and Pockriss also wrote the big hit in our family:  “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.”

“Prelude for a Celebration” – Jay Conard  1958-
This started as a keyboard piece for the wedding of a nephew in Florida.  However, it grew in my mind to something that needed a full orchestra to give it full voice.  The brass start with a fanfare, while the strings fill out the lyrical melody in the second half.

Gloria – Antonio Vivaldi  1678-1741
We will present the first movements from this baroque masterpiece.

Music from Star Wars – John Williams  1932-  
This music from the original Star Wars movie established composer John Williams as the master of film music.  The film came out in the summer of 1977 and was a smash hit immediately.  We present “Duel of the Fates” from episode I (first of the prequels) and then do the “Ewok – Celebration” from episode 6 (end of the original trilogy).  To round it out, we present a short medley from the first film (episode 4).

1. “Duel of the Fates”
2. “Ewok – Celebration”
3. Star Wars – Closing credits

“Ain’-a That Good News” – William Dawson 1899-1990
Dawson arranged many spirituals sung by his renowned Tuskegee Choir at the Tuskegee Institute, where he taught for many years.

“Tico Tico no fuba”  – Zequinha de Abreu 1880-1935 
The title translates to “rufous-collared sparrow in the cornmeal.”  It is a Brazilian song written in 1917.

“Singin’ in the Rain” – Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown
Most of us know this song from the 1952 movie of the same name, in which Gene Kelly dances through puddles in a rain storm. It was first sung in a 1929 Broadway show by Cliff Edwards – also known as Ukulele Ike and as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Disney’s Pinocchio.

Medley from Les Miserables – Schonberg/Kretzmer
The original novel was published by Victor Hugo in 1862. The musical version (originally in French) has been in constant production since 1985 – which is longer than the 17 years from 1815-32 that the story covers.

with the
Hagerstown High School Band

Saturday, April 6 * 2:00 p.m.
Hagerstown High School
Hagerstown, IN

In anticipation of the solar eclipse on April 8, join the RCO and our guest musicians from Hagerstown High School for an astronomically themed celebration, featuring

“Star Wars Medley” * “Jupiter” from The Planets
“Total Eclipse of the Heart”
“Duel of the Fates” from The Phantom Menace
and more upbeat selections!