The Lethbridge Community Gold band winds up a busy 25 anniversary celebration, Dec. 8 with the annual Mayors Christmas Concert at the Southminster United Church.
The mayor hosts this the annual event which has beenhappening for two decades and has since become one of the most highly anticipated events of the season as it is also a fundraiser for the Lethbridge Food Bank.
It features performances by the Lethbridge Gold Band, Lethbridge Silver Band and a new choir, the Chinook Singers.
“There are a lot of Christmas concerts, but this is one a lot of community looks forward to. We collect a lot of stuff for the Lethbridge Food bank. There is just so much music,” said Ken Rogers, who conducts the Gold Band.
He has conducted the 50 member Gold Band for the past three years and was conducting the silver band for 10 years before that.
Sam Yamamoto will be conducting the 30 member Silver band through their set.
“ This is major show of the year for us. It’s the last show of our twenty-fifth anniversary,” Rogers said.
Because it is a Christmas show, expect a lot of Christmas music. there will be a combination of popular Christmas carols and religious Christmas songs, and some surprises.
“We let the band choose the songs this year,” Rogers said.
“Some years we do things like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” other years we do things like “Frosty the Snowman”
”We haven’t decided which yet,” he continued.
But they have chosen a few pieces including some more unusual and complex pieces including “big, tough” Russian Christmas songs and a medley of English Christmas Carols, plus Gustav Holst’s “Christmas Day.”
He is especially anticipating performing his favourite Christmas song “Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.”
“It’s my absolute favourite Christmas songs. I get excited every time I play it though it drives some people crazy,” he said.
He noted a lot of the community members who attend the concert look forward to the sing along portion of the performance.
He is looking forward to singing with the Chinook Chamber Singers.
“It’s a really advanced adult choir that just formed with 20 members last spring. It includes a lot of University of lethbridge Music department alumni and a few professors,” he said.
Everyone in the choir has a music degree, so we can do some pretty complex stuff,” he said. Marvin Dueck directs the choir.
There may even be a special guest performing with the three groups.
The Gold Band had an exciting year. They went to Canmore in May to perform in the Canadian Band Festival, a fun festival featuring bands from all over the country.
“ It really was a lot of fun,” he said.
Between them, the Gold and Silver bands perform about a dozen times a year.
Rogers said the Silver band is a lot more relaxed, while the Gold Band includes people who really want to practice hard.
Both bands share a few members as well.
Next Spring, they are planning a big fantasy themed show.
On May 4 the Gold Band will perform the Lord of the Rings as composed by Swedish instrumentalist Bo Hansson who was s inspired to compose it based on J.R. Tolkien’s epic novel. It will be the centrepiece of the show featuring fantasy themed music to take place at the College Drive Church. They also have a big concert at the College Drive Church, June 8 featuring “Top of the Pops” music.
More information can be found at http://www.lcbs.ca/
Tickets for the mayor’s christmas concert cost $15 at Long and mcQuade as well as at the door. They will also be accepting donations of non-perishable food items for the Lethbridge Food Bank.
