Summer Band Concert series kicks off June 14

SHREVEPORT, La. (Centenary News Service) — The Centenary College Summer Band Concerts kick off Tuesday, June 14 for a series of three outdoor concerts at the Hargrove Memorial Amphitheatre. Bring a lawn chair, blanket or sit in the bleacher seating at the "Shell" for this traditional summertime favorite.

Summer Band Series

Additional concerts will take place Tuesday, June 21 and Tuesday, June 28. All concerts begin at 8 p.m. The concerts are free and open to the community.

The first concert on June 14 will feature Dr. Tom Ticich on Accordion performing Tico Tico and Jalousie, both standards for the instrument. Dr. Ticich is a member of the Centenary faculty and is the Chair of the Chemistry Department.

The concerts continue Tuesday, June 21 when Centenary College trumpet instructor Mike Scarlato performs with his former student Clay Mills '11, on Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Trumpets. The concert will also feature works by the late American Composer Clifton Williams. Postwar Prelude and Caprice Americana are new publications from the pen of Williams, played here for the first time since the 1940s.

The composer's daughter, Michelle, will be in attendance. Williams, who died in 1976, left a great legacy of published works for band, but the family has only recently permitted publication of his early compositions.

The final concert will take place Tuesday, June 28 and feature Centenary College student Lindsey Fileccia singing "Just Leave Everything to Me" and "He Touched Me." Additionally, to celebrate the July 4th season, patriotic music honoring America and a narration of Aaron Copeland's Lincoln Portrait by Centenary's Director of Community and Intercultural Engagement, Chris Lavan will be featured. The narration showcases the speeches of the sixteenth president in a stirring musical tribute.

The Centenary College Summer Band Concert Series is sponsored by AEP Swepco, Ark-La-Tex Cardiology, Dr. & Mrs. John E. Stone, and an anonymous Foundation grant through Bankcorpsouth. The Summer Band series is conducted by Dr. Thomas Stone, professor of music at Centenary College. For more information, call 318.869.5238.

About the Summer Series

The Summer Band Concert series has been a staple since 1957 when B.P. Causey, then director of bands at the College established the series comprised of local professional musicians. For more than 30 years, the ensemble performed at the band shell, with audiences ranging from 500 to 3,000 concertgoers. The concerts was a summertime staple in Shreveport until 1987 when the tradition ended due to Mr. Causey's advanced age and lack of funding.

The series was revived in 2000 when Mr. Causey's son, Bill Jr., and Dr. Stone, produced and reestablished the Centenary Summer Band Concert Series with financial backing area businesses. According to Stone, a renewed series of concerts provided the public with the opportunity to hear concert music of high quality performed by top-flight musicians. With a "concert in the park atmosphere," music has been selected from a variety of styles, including marches, Broadway show tunes, overtures, tone poems, and solo works with band accompaniment.

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and has been recognized as "One of the Best 371 Colleges" by the Princeton Review and one of "America's Best Colleges" and one of "America's Best Private Colleges" by Forbes.com. In 2008 Centenary College celebrated 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.