Hooray for Hollywood - DBQ Style

The Tri-State Wind Symphony kicked off its 14th season Sunday night (1 June 2008) at the Packard Pavillion at the DBQ Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. It was originally scheduled to kick off the season on 29 May at Eagle Point Park but was cancelled due to rain.

The theme of the 1st performance was "Hooray for Hollywood". The program was a feast of music from a variety of movies, older & more recent.

I have to start off by saying that I was very impressed with how good they sounded. I couldn't help but think that they could hold their own against any professional orchestra. The TSWS consists of a few professionals (music teachers, etc.) but for the most part consists of amateurs who have a love for music. They rehearse 2-3 times before each performance. Yet, they sounded like they had been rehearsing for weeks.

The opening piece was a medley of tunes from older movies. & while I recognized many of the tunes, there were a few I was unfamiliar with. My favorite part of this piece was the solo of As Time Goes By from Casablanca. It had a distinctly Moroccan flavor.

Next up was a medley of tunes John Williams wrote for the original Star Wars. Maybe I am just too big a Star Wars fan, but I felt there was 1 small thing missing from the piece. & no, I don't mean the Cantina Band theme.(Given that that piece is more of a jazz stylepiece it made sense it wasn't a part of the medley. I am talking about the fact that Chewbacca's roar was missing from The Throne Room theme.

Next up was a trip through 3 Disney movies. The 1st piece was a part of Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia. After an intermission we were treated to music from Aladdin. & we ended up Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid) for the 3rd Disney piece.

Appropriately enough the next piece was music from Mr. Holland's Opus. They closed with a medley entitled Hooray for Hollywood. It contained a collection of movie tunes from the early days of sound (Swanee, 42nd Street) to the 60s (Born Free, A Summer Place). It also included Tara's Theme from Gone With the Wind & the Looney Tunes theme.

The TSWS has 4 more performances scheduled this Summer up at Eagle Point Park. You can check out their schedule on their website. The weeks they are off there will be other groups performing (3 July excepted, obviously). This Thursday will see the premier performance of a new group, the Mississippi Valley Philharmonic (MVP). Like the TSWS it is under the direction of Brian Hughes.

The Arboretum also has a full schedule of musical performances this Summer. It will include performances by the Air National Guard Band of the Midwest, The 4 Freshmen (Same group, different members), & a return performance of Celebration, Iowa! as well as local groups like MVP, Ken Killian & the Colt Cadets. & with other events elsewhere in DBQ this Summer, there is something for everyone.

DBQ is fortunate to have quality groups like the TSWS & excellent sites like Eagle Point Park & the Arboretum to serve as venues. I would gladly stand up what we have to offer to any other comparably sized city & feel sure that we would come out ahead of all of them.