Submitted Photo In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Minot City Band will present a concert of patriotic and popular music Sunday, July 5, in Oak Park.

The Minot City Band will present a concert at Oak Park on Sunday, July 5, at 4 p.m., and then the same concert again at 7 p.m. The concert will include patriotic music and popular music in a variety of styles.

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the concert will begin with Don Gillis’ “Ceremony of Allegiance,” which includes a narration consisting of excerpts from the Preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance with musical accompaniment. “Ceremony of Allegiance” will be followed by the “Star Spangled Banner.” The band will perform two marches: a popular American march by J. J. Richard called “Emblem of Unity,” followed by the Norwegian march “Valdres,” by Johannes Hannsen.

Pat Schwan on trumpet, Jacob Kirsch on clarinet, Justin Johnson on tenor saxophone, Curt Kumpf on trombone, Tyler Irwin on tuba and Suzie Stevick on drums will play the lively “Dixieland on Stage” by Bob Lowden, with band accompaniment. A 1960s rock piece with Baroque elements by Caesar Giovannini called “Alla Barocco” and excerpts from “Brigadoon” by Frederick Loewe will follow. “Brigadoon” was a 1947 musical about a mysterious Scottish village that only appeared once every 100 years.

The band will present an arrangement of the folk song “Shenandoah” by North Dakota composer James D. Ployhar. Carmen Dragon’s dramatic and inspirational arrangement of “America, the Beautiful” will then be followed by a fanfare-filled arrangement of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” The concert will conclude with John Phillip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

The City Band has three conductors this season – Pat Schwan, Ben Eder and Wayne Schempp. Schempp will be conducting the Sunday concerts. All three also play trumpet in the band. The band itself consists of about 35 local musicians, ranging from high school students to music educators.

The Minot City Band has been performing concerts in the city since 1904. Early on, the band experienced a number of gap years, so this year is the band’s 106th season.

The season will continue with concerts at 4 and 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, and the popular Sousa Concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, all at Oak Park, before concluding with the North Dakota State Fair Parade on July 18.