Bloomfield Civic Band Celebrates Women in the Arts

On the eve of Mother’s Day, the Bloomfield Civic Band venerated women in the arts by showcasing two extremely talented female singers: Andrea Covais and Carmen Artis. Both gifted and brilliant performers, these women put female artistry at the forefront.

The show rumbled open with the powerful percussion of “Commando March” by Samuel Barber, a tune that occasionally echoed “Pink Elephants on Parade” from “Dumbo”.

The first soloist, Artis, took the stage with her rendition of “Habanera” from the opera that bears her namesake. Her vibrato lent a pained air to the well-known song.

“It’s usually sung by a mezzo, but I can still sing it in that range,” said Artis, who is a soprano.

The magic truly clicked during “Si, Me Chiamano Mimi” from “La Boheme”. The moment when Artis' voice and the band came together in harmony were enough to give anyone chills.

After “Overture for Band” by Felix Mendelssohn and “O Mio Babbino Caro” from “Gianni Schicchi,” Covais sang another selection from “La Boheme”, “Musetta’s Waltz”, a well-known song that was featured in the film “Moonstruck."

Covais' voice soared beautifully despite some audio problems from the microphone. The band played out the first half to “Dam Busters” by Eric Coates.

The second half opened with an exotic flair. “Jalousie” by Jacob Gade was followed by Artis singing Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine,” which she seemed most comfortable with.

After another song from Covais, showing her versatility with “Ah! Je Voux Vivre," and a “Fiddler on the Roof” medley, the two singers came together to close the show, appropriately enough, with “Time to Say Goodbye” by Francesco Sartori.

After the performance Covais said, “I think it’s great to celebrate women who are involved and working and doing well in the artistic field.”

Besides the beautiful music playing throughout the night, the audience got to see four members get inducted into the Bloomfield Civic Band Hall of Fame during the intermission. Each inductee was called up and given a medal and asked to say a few words.

Flautist Cathy Veit joked, “I thank everyone who’s in the audience tonight. I know there’s a lot of competition on a Saturday night.”

Upon receiving his medal, Kevin Hagen, a saxophonist, extolled the wonder of music.

“It’s a sacred thing. It’s kind of like we’re touching history.”