3 stops for Army band, chorus - Oct. 25-26, Oct. 29

photo The U.S. Army Field Band.

The U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers' Chorus have three stops scheduled in Southeast Tennessee within the week. With the exception of an opening Patriotic Prologue and penultimate Armed Forces Salute, the musical selections will be different at each concert.

The concerts in Athens, Dayton and Tullahoma are part of a fall tour for the ensembles, who together present a program of marches, overtures, popular music, patriotic selections and instrumental and vocal solos. Their mission is to foster "the support of the American people for members of the armed forces and [support] diplomatic efforts around the world."

The Field Band is actually an umbrella organization for four performing components. The Concert Band, part of the tour, is the oldest and largest - a 65-member instrumental ensemble founded in 1946. The Soldiers' Chorus, founded in 1957, has 29 members whose backgrounds range from opera and musical theater to music education and vocal coaching.

All of the concerts are free, but tickets are required. Tickets for the Athens and Tullahoma shows are available at www.armyfieldband.com (click on Ensembles, then Touring Schedule on the Concert Band page). Tickets for the Dayton concert may be picked up at the Rhea Herald-News office, 3687 Rhea County Highway.

• Saturday, Oct. 25, in Athens: 7:30 p.m. in the McMinn County High School gymnasium, 2215 Congress Parkway South. 423-745-5664.

Program highlights include Sousa's "Hail to the Spirit of Liberty" and "El Capitan," Buck's Festival Overture on "The Star-Spangled Banner," Allegro Vivace from Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, greatest hits of George and Ira Gershwin, selections from "Carmina Burana" and "Ragtime," overture from Bjork's "Dancer in the Dark" and Barry Manilow's "Let Freedom Ring."

• Sunday, Oct. 26, in Dayton: 2 p.m. in Rudd Auditorium at Bryan College, 721 Bryan Drive. 423-775-6111.

Program highlights include Sousa's "Invincible Eagle" and "El Capitan," Soliloquy from "Carousel," "Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie Doon," Debussy's "Premiere Rhapsodie," Party Scene and Finale from Copland's "The Tender Land," Mackey's "Strange Humors," selections from Gilbert and Sullivan and Gino Vannelli's "None So Beautiful."

• Wednesday, Oct. 29, in Tullahoma: 7 p.m. CDT in the Tullahoma High School gymnasium, 927 N. Jackson St. 931-455-4545.

Program highlights include Chambers' "Chicago Tribune," Allegro Molto from Copland's Symphony No. 3, Bernstein's "Glitter and Be Gay" from "Candide," Stamps' "Pastime: A Salute to Baseball," Teutonic Tales, Sousa's "El Capitan," selections for "An Evening in Rio" and Steffe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

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