Community Concert to Feature Nazareth Native, Civil War-Era Music

The 2011 year kicks off a national four-year commemoration of the Civil War, and in observation, a concert featuring the music of the era will be performed this Sunday, March 6, at 3 p.m. in the  auditorium.

The performance will feature the Nazareth Community Band, directed by Ralph Brodt, and the renowned Allentown Band, directed by Ronald Demkee. Music of the genre includes marches, quicksteps and patriotic tunes composed by the likes of Stephen Foster and Claudio Grafulla.

Special guest vocalist Ron Meixsell will be on hand to sing “Amazing Grace,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and the National Anthem. He will also be narrating - to the music of “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber - a letter from the battlefield by Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah.

"It’s an exciting thing for me,” said Meixsell, a native of Nazareth who now sings for dignitaries on Long Island. He played and sang with the Nazareth band in high school, which was founded during the Civil War. “That’s the significance for me,” he said.

Tickets are $10 each and are available at the , the , and at the door on the day of the concert.