October 15, 2019

ORILLIA SILVER BAND CONCERT OCT. 20 WILL BE A BLAST

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — Sunday’s concert at the Gravenhurst Opera House will be a blast.

A cannon blast, as the Orillia Silver Band is set to perform its Light Fantastic Concert.

The afternoon concert is Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for students/children and are available from the Opera House box office, by phone at 705-687-5550 or online at https://www.gravenhurst.ca/en/explore-and-play/opera-house.aspx.

Conducted by Neil Barlow, well known in the region’s music circles, the Silver Band will open the concert with Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s “The Light Fantastic,” encapsulating the grandeur and spirit of the 2008 Olympic Games, while also paying homage to the host city of Beijing.

The 35-piece brass band will also be performing John William’s march, “Midway,” an exciting tune called “A Redbridge Raga” by Chris Wilcox — which is a mix of modern British pop with Indian folk music elements — and selections from Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt.”

Also on the program is Steven Verhelst’s beautiful “Song for Japan,” dedicated to the victims and relatives of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The band will also perform James Curnow’s “Appalachian Mountain Folk Song Suite.”

And to wrap up the concert, they will perform a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” complete with cannons, bells and other special effects.

Plan to attend this entertaining afternoon of brass band music.