Rags and reels are theme of Nov. 8 band concert

Oct. 27, 2009
Contact: Dr. Larry Smithee, Associate Professor of Music
865.981.8153; larry.smithee@maryvillecollege.edu

Music that will make concert-goers want to dance, march and tap their feet will be performed Sun., Nov. 8, by musicians with the Maryville College-Community Concert Band.

The band’s fall concert, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in the Alumni Gymnasium on campus.

The program of older American music includes the works of masters like Sousa, Claude Smith, Leroy Anderson and other composers. Concert-goers will recognize tunes such as “Shenandoah,” “The Blue-Tail Fly,” “Mock Morris” and “With Pleasure.” Renditions of from Robert Russell Bennett’s Suite of Old American Dances are also included on the program.

The more than 60-member ensemble is directed by Dr. Larry Smithee, associate professor of music at Maryville College, who established the band in 1992. Musicians represent a mixture of ages. Adult members hail from Blount County and other surrounding communities, and are retired or engaged in a variety of professional endeavors, while student members are from Maryville College and several of the area’s other academic institutions.

The band provides student members with an excellent opportunity to significantly enhance their performing experience, while allowing adult members the opportunity to continue a lifelong love of the concert-band genre.

For more information, contact the College’s Fine Arts Division at 865.981.8150.

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state's third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is 1,103.