Fall in Love with the Hill Country Community Band
Perhaps Valentine’s Day 2020 should be moved to February 22 because that is the date of the Hill Country Community Band’s next concert, appropriately themed, Love Is in the Air. Taking place at the Wimberley Community Center, this Saturday concert begins at 4:00 p.m. and will include many beloved pop songs and several classical compositions. Director, James Malik, said,”All the pieces that we’re playing are all tied into a love theme. We’re playing selections from the love story, Beauty and the Beast, and we’re doing a piece from a famous opera, Love for Three Oranges. One of the movements is ‘Marche’. It doesn’t sound like a love song but the broader piece fits the theme. It’s been a lot of fun putting this together.”
Flautist, Samantha Tartamella will be the guest soloist. Currently, she is a graduate student at the University of Texas pursuing a Master’s degree in Performance. Malik said, “She is a phenomenal flute player. She’ll be joining us on a piece called ‘Meditation’ from the opera, Thais. It’s one of the most gorgeous melodies ever written. We’re looking forward to collaborating with her and having her play for our community. I think people will really enjoy her.”
When asked about which performance piece presented the biggest challenge, Malik said, “Whenever we deal with medleys, that always tends to lend itself to challenges because you have a lot of different melodies that contrast.” One of those medleys to be performed is a compilation of ten popular tunes by Burt Bacharach, including: “What the World Needs Now is Love”, “Do You Know the Way to San José?”, “(They Long to Be) Close to You”, and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” Malik said, “The players have to ‘stay on their feet’ and keep their minds sharp because it changes very quickly. The piece itself is highly entertaining and people are going to recognize the melodies, and I think that it’s going to be a really fun piece for them.”
This musical event will offer one last chance to buy raffle tickets for a one week stay in a 3 bedroom condo in Angel Fire, New Mexico, from June 6 to June 13. Money raised from the raffle sale will help to fund the Hill Country Community Band’s future endeavors. The drawing will take place directly after the concert.
The Wimberley Community Center is located at 14068 RR 12. For more information about volunteering with the Hill Country Community Band or making a donation, Visit the HCCB website at www.hillcountrycommunityband. org and follow on Facebook for current band news and future concert dates.