Merion Concert Band Celebrates America with Free Concert

Referred to by many as the birthplace of America, there is no better place to celebrate what makes our country great than right here where it all started. On the afternoon of October 30, the Merion Concert Band aims to do just that with a concert titled “This Grand Country.” This first performance of the Merion Concert Band’s 2016-2017 season celebrates the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and the upcoming presidential election. Featuring music that evokes the picturesque open spaces of our country, pieces dedicated to some of our nation's presidents, and music that celebrates America, the concert is free and open to the public.

Under the direction of Conductor Nathan Snyder, the Merion Concert Band first takes audiences on a musical tour of America’s vast and diverse landscape, offering up pieces such as Aaron Copland’s An Outdoor Overture, The Cowboys by prolific composer John Williams, and Ferde Grofe’s On the Trail. The program’s first half spans a wide range of scenes from sweeping melodies that evoke open spaces to the rugged music of the wild west and finally, to a musical portrait of a donkey caravan touring the Grand Canyon. Following a brief intermission, the program turns its attention to the themes of patriotism and our upcoming Presidential election. The band invites audience members to reflect on some of the more somber moments in our history with its performance of Elegy for a Young American, a piece composed by Robert LoPresti to commemorate the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In addition to several marches and other patriotic compositions, the Merion Concert Band pays tribute to presidents past and future with Presidential Polonaise, written by John Philip Sousa at the request of President Chester A. Arthur. The concert concludes with the well-loved Chimes of Liberty March.