Musical groups combine for July 4th Hometown Patriotic Concert

After sitting outside enjoying “The Best Little Parade in Texas” on Independence Day, what could be better than sitting in air conditioning listening to beautiful music by two of Wimberley’s best and longest running musical groups? The Wimberley Community Chorus and the Hill Country Community Band are coming back together this year for the first time since 2019 for the 10th Annual Hometown Patriotic Concert on July 4 at 3 p.m. at the Wimberley First Baptist Church, 15951 Winters Mill Parkway.

Favorite patriotic songs celebrating the birth and history of our nation will include “America the Beautiful,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “God Bless America,” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.” “Hymn to the Fallen” by John Williams from Saving Private Ryan is accompanied by a powerful video presentation honoring those that gave everything for the United States. During “Armed Forces Salute,” flags of our country’s military branches are presented by a color guard while veterans of those branches are invited to stand and be honored.

For the first time this year, Joe Dollard, a twenty-year member of US Navy Band, will be featured as a euphonium soloist in “The Yellow Rose of Texas Variations,” by Lewis J. Buckley. Dollard’s impressive resume includes being a founding member of the Dallas Winds, many guest performances and clinics around the country, and performing in several groups in Austin.

The Wimberley Community Chorus will be directed by Ed Snouffer, with his wife, Andrea, accompanying the chorus on piano. During the school year, Snouffer serves Eanes ISD as head director of Westlake High School Choirs. Since being named head director, the choir program at Westlake has grown to include eight choirs involving several hundred students. The choirs are consistent UIL Sweepstakes winners and have been honored at festivals around the country. Snouffer has received numerous teaching honors including Lake Travis ISD Teacher Of The Year, Texas Region XIII Teacher Of The Year, multiple listings in Who’s Who of American Teachers, and several Golden Apple Awards recognizing teachers for positive educational impact. In addition to his teaching duties, Snouffer has been a member of Grammy Award winning Conspirare, an Austin based professional choir, performing on two of the group’s recordings. Snouffer serves as Associate Music Director at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Austin. He is an adjudicator, clinician and accompanist for choirs across Texas, and has served as accompanist for state honor choirs at TMEA, and an honor choir at the ACDA National Convention in Salt Lake City.

Chorus accompanist Andrea Snouffer is the head choir director at West Ridge Middle School in Eanes ISD, leading six award winning choirs. Under her direction, West Ridge Choirs have performed multiple times as a state honor choir at the Texas Music Educators Association Conference in San Antonio, and as a national honor choir at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association. Her choirs have also performed three times at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She is an active adjudicator, clinician throughout Texas. She is the principal accompanist for Tapestry Singers, a women’s chorus in Austin, and is the Children’s Chorus Master for Austin Opera, most recently preparing the chorus for productions of La Boheme and Carmen.

The Hill Country Community Band will be directed by Dr. Manuel Arambula. Arambula has taught string and wind students at the junior high, high school and university level. A native of South Texas, Arambula became interested in music at a young age. He began his piano studies at the age of six, and affiliated himself at the secondary levels in the orchestra and band where he earned many distinctions as a performer. Graduating Magna Cum Laude from McAllen High School, Arambula knew that music was his calling. His professional trajectory has taken him across the states of Texas and California. He has taught both band and orchestra, including a teaching assistantship at Texas Tech University. A supporter of fine arts, Arambula has been involved with community musical organizations in the South Texas and Lubbock areas. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master of Music in Instrumental Performance from the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, a Master of Music in instrumental conducting and a Doctorate in Musical Arts in instrumental conducting from Texas Tech University. When not engaged in his musical interests, Arambula is an avid collector of classical historical recordings, reading books in history and spending time with his dogs.

The chorus and band are happy to be performing together again after several years missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and hope to see the community singing and enjoying music together again. Anyone interested in in participating in the chorus or band can find more information at their websites:

www.wimberleycommunitychorus.org www.hillcountrycommunityband.org