The Concert Band's Spring Tour
THE 50-member Dartmouth College Concert Band is preparing for a 1963 Spring Tour to the New York Metropolitan area, its first extensive trip in three years. The tour dates are March 19-25, the first week of spring vacation, and the itinerary includes fourteen concerts for schools and service organizations located within approximately 50 miles of New York City.
The 1963 tour, which has been entirely organized by student bandsmen under the direction of Prof. Donald W. Wendlandt, is the third to be undertaken by the Band in recent years. In 1959 and 1960 similar tours were made to the New York and New Jersey area.
The primary purpose of the series of concerts, according to Tour Manager Ronald Tegtmeier '65, is "to increase musical appreciation among high school students and members of the community and to encourage high school bandsmen." This purpose is to be fulfilled not only by playing for high school groups but also by meeting with school bands in special pre-concert sessions.
Most of the concerts will be morning and afternoon assembly programs at New York or New Jersey schools. Also planned are several evening concerts, some of which are benefit projects. In several cases local alumni groups are cooperating with the sponsoring organizations in providing meals and overnight lodging, which are an important contribution to the success of the tour, since the Band itself must raise all the funds needed to cover its trip expenses. The largest expense, transportation, will be covered by a base fee charged for each concert.
High school assembly programs have been planned for North Bergen, N. J., the afternoon of March 20; Weehawken, N. J., the morning of March 21; Westbury, N. Y., the afternoon of March 22; Malverne, N. Y., the morning of March 25 (two assemblies); and Oyster Bay, N. Y., the afternoon of March 25.
Evening concerts are scheduled for March 21 at the Rumson (N. J.) High School; March 22 at the Pelham (N. Y.) High School; March 23 at the Massapequa (N. Y.) High School; and March 25 at the Oyster Bay (N. Y.) High School. The Massapequa concert is a fund-raising project sponsored by the Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital of Denver, Colo. Final details on the other concerts are being worked out.
The concert repertoire may include a sample of the "modern" works featured at the November 8 concert during the inaugural program of Hopkins Center. Traditional band works, light music, show tunes, marches, and Dartmouth songs will complete the program.
IN addition to its Hopkins Center concert appearance, the Dartmouth Band, in its larger marching form of eighty members, had a busy fall lending its musical support to Dartmouth's highly successful football season. Playing for each of the home games and traveling to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, the Band was there with spirit for the team the few times it was really needed and entertained the crowds with imaginative halftime shows. Themes for this season's shows ranged from "The Activities of a Houseparties Date" to "Ivy League Traditions" to "Themes from Broadway Shows."
Unfortunately, two of the shows never got off the ground (or rather, onto the field) as a steady downpour during the Penn and Yale games turned the fields into quagmires and made clarinets and trumpets alike out of tune.
The highlight of the marching season undoubtedly was the Harvard game of October 27, which was regionally televised. In spite of the fact that the Harvard Crimson called the snappy Dartmouth precision marching "dull," many a Dartmouth man was slightly amused by the aimless, scurrying movements of the Harvard bandsmen as they scrambled from formation to formation after the sound of a popgun.
The Concert Band, usually inactive during the fall term, was honored to present the first concert of the Hopkins Center inaugural program on November 8. Featuring serious band music by contemporary composers, the program was highlighted by the premiere of "In Festivitatae" by Robert Moevs, a work specially commissioned by the College for the Band. Other works were "When Jesus Wept" and "Chester" by William Schuman, "Symphony for Band" by Vincent Persichetti, "Procession of the Nobles" by Rimsky-Korsakov, and "Serenade No. 10" by W. A. Mozart. Capping the program was a series of short pieces illustrating the evolution of the march, which was arranged by Band Director Donald W. Wendlandt.
Much credit for the success of this fall's Band program belongs to Professor Wendlandt, who put a lot of extra time and effort into preparing the Hopkins Center concert during the marching band season. This fall he reached his tenth anniversary as Band Director. He came to Dartmouth in 1952 after receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in 1946 and Master of Music degree in 1952 from the University of Wisconsin.
In addition to the Spring Tour, other Band activities this year will include the annual winter-term concert, the Variety Night program, the Green Key concert held in the Bema, and possibly some short trips for concerts near Hanover.
The president of the Dartmouth Band is Daryl Erickson '63. Other members of the student directorate are: Bill Wellstead '63, student director; Larry Williams '64, secretary-treasurer; Jon Young '64, manager; D. Brooks Wheeler '64, Green Key representative; James Roche '65, drum major; and George Estabrook '64, head librarian.
In addition to Tour Manager Tegtmeier, students associated with the 1963 tour are Publicity Director Peter Bush '65 and Announcer William Woolley '63.
Prof. Donald W. Wendlandt directing theconcert band in a Hanover rehearsal.
