On Sunday, October 18, at 3:00 pm, the Tri-County Symphonic Band, under the direction of Philip Sanborn, will perform their 65th season opening concert, “Maritime Chronicles.” The program will be held in the Fireman Performing Arts Center at Tabor Academy in Marion, and will feature a collection of dynamic pieces that help illustrate life on the high seas. From high on the mast of a tall ship to below deck in crew quarters, the compositions are all very programmatic and display the symphonic band at its fullest, spirited and most energetic, while also showing the gentle side of the flexibility of wind and percussion orchestration.
After opening with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Sea Songs,” the band will perform “The Sea Treaders” by W. Francis McBeth, “Martinique” by Robert Washburn, and the concert march “Parade of Tall Ships” by John Philip Sousa. After intermission, the band will offer their rendition of “Songs of Sailor and Sea” by Robert W. Smith, which includes whale sounds produced by some alternative percussion performance techniques. John Gibson’s opus “Resting in the Peace of His Hands” is next as this solemn piece is offered as a tribute to those who have lost their lives at sea. The program concludes with two dramatically contrasting pieces: “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” by Hans Zimmer and John Philip Sousa’s “Hands Across the Sea.”
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the Marion General Store, Mimis of Marion, the Symphony Music Shop in North Dartmouth and online at tricountysymphonicband.org. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.