‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and other American compositions shine in themed concert
- Ellie Ruel
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
Taku Winds and piano soloist to perform this weekend
By Ellie Ruel
Juneau Independent
The Juneau Community Band’s Taku Winds ensemble is set to present “Rhapsody in Blue” featuring local soloist Kyle Farley-Robinson and other pieces by American composers for their spring concert.
“For the last several years we've been trying to feature a soloist in our spring concert and it's usually somebody, a player from the band,” explained Sarah McNair-Grove, president of Juneau Community Bands. “Kyle approached us about two years ago and said he really would like to play ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ and there were band arrangements of it and we thought, ‘Oh, that's a great idea. It's a favorite piece. It would be just a wonderful addition.’”
Conductor Alan Young said some of the accompanying pieces, such as “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin were originally arranged for solo piano, presenting a unique set of challenges for rehearsal.
“What I really appreciate about a concert band over a string orchestra is that you have so many more tone colors. So one of the roles of the conductor is if you think of it like a literal color, your job is to mix those colors together,” Young said. “there's a famous band director saying of ‘practice is where you learn your part, and rehearsal as a group is where you learn everybody else’s part.’”
McNair-Grove, who’s also played clarinet in the ensemble for about 12 years, said the piano pieces entail a lot of moving parts.
“When one person is doing it, and they're using their 10 fingers and two feet, they can control everything,” she said. “When you have 40 people to get together to play that can sometimes be a challenge when you're having to get everybody together, but it really has come together really, really nicely, and Alan has been able to draw 40 people together to make them sound like one.”
The performance is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, in the Thunder Mountain Middle School auditorium. Tickets are available online and at the door.
• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com.
