The Brass Band of Minot is celebrating the coming season with a concert titled “A Brass Celebration” at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, at Minot State University’s Ann Nicole Nelson Hall. The band is directed by Gordon Troxel and consists of brass and percussion players of a variety of ages and experiences from Minot and other communities in Northwest North Dakota who share a love of brass band music.

The concert will open with James Curnow’s powerful “Fanfare Prelude,” an arrangement of the popular German hymn, “Lobe den Herren” or “Praise to the Lord.” The band will continue with Oliver Waespi’s “Graces of Love,” a festive piece based on a book of Renaissance dance tunes published in 1602 by dance master Cesare Negri, followed by Aubrey Winter’s arrangement of Jaime Texidor’s “Amparito Roca,” a lively piece written in the Paso Doble, or Spanish two-step, style.

As November 10 is the 244th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, the band will play John Phillip Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis,” the Marine Corps official march, as a birthday tribute. The concert will transition to a holiday mood with a sparkling rendition of Felix Bernard’s classic “Winter Wonderland,” arranged by Phillip Sparke, followed by the light calypso Salvation Army Band piece, “Do Lord-Oh.” The concert will conclude with the majestic “Hallelujah Chorus” from Georg Friedrich Handel’s “Messiah.”

As North Dakota’s only British-style brass band, the Brass Band of Minot provides an opportunity for both audiences and musicians to experience the unique sound that is created by instruments that are not often heard elsewhere such as cornets, flugelhorns, and altoniums. When combined with more familiar brass instruments the result is a mellow sound that brings a special twist to music of a variety of styles.

To support their efforts to provide arts programming in the Minot area, the Brass Band of Minot recently applied for and was awarded a $2,000 Community Arts Access grant by the North Dakota Council on the Arts. The grant will help provide funds to support and assist the band with the preparation for and performance of this year’s concerts.

The Brass Band of Minot was among 17 recipients of Community Arts Access – Tier 2 funding for Fiscal Year 2020. The grant program offers financial support for arts events and programming, and supports organizations and artists, in communities with populations of 6,000 or greater. A total of $43,000 was awarded by the NDCA during this grant round.

The North Dakota Council on the Arts is the state agency responsible for the support and development of the arts throughout North Dakota. For more information, contact the Council on the Arts at 328-7594 or visit http://www.nd.gov/arts/. The application deadline for the next round of Community Arts Access – Tier 2 grants is April 1, 2020.

The Brass Band of Minot’s 2019-2020 season will continue with concerts on Feb. 16 and March 29. All the performances will be at 4 p.m. at Ann Nicole Nelson Hall. Brass Band of Minot concerts are free and open to the public, though cash and check donations are very welcome.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.