THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 8, 1994 TAG: 9407060139
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
IT'S TIME AGAIN for the annual summer band concerts in Chesapeake by the popular and lauded Tidewater Winds, a professional concert band in the ``Sousa band tradition.''
But in these modern times ``summer band concerts'' no longer mean setting up lawn chairs around a bandstand gazebo and enjoying uplifting music under the stars. The concerts have now moved indoors, just like Friday's performance concert at Western Branch High School and Monday's show at Great Bridge High.
And for good reason.
Sidney Berg, the Winds' musical director, said moving the concerts indoors at all its South Hampton Roads venues has proved to be very successful.
Inside air-conditioned high school auditoriums and other similar venues, Berg said the band and audience won't have to fight the bugs, heat, humidity and noise.
``Going indoors has gone very well,'' Berg said. ``We've gained more people in the audience. Indoors, there's no noise to bother the musicians. We're now able to play with more subtlety, more flexibility and can use musical shadings. We can play softer things. I remember when we were playing an outdoor concert by the Chesapeake Central Library, someone in the audience had to finally get up and walk across Cedar Road to ask someone to refrain from mowing their lawn while we were playing.''
Berg said the heat and humidity always had a negative effect on the band's sensitive instruments and so did the bugs.
``We no longer have to worry about swatting mosquitoes or losing the tone from our instruments,'' he said.
Berg said the Winds will blow its hot Sousa sounds at Western Branch and Great Bridge in the high school auditoriums. Overall, the Winds are scheduled to play seven dates in the city.
Friday's Western Branch concert, ``Music of America,'' will be centered on a patriotic theme. The performance will feature ``The Star-Spangled Banner'' along with red, white and blue compositions by John Williams, John Philip Sousa, George M. Cohan, Charles Ives and Leonard Bernstein. The program will end with George Gershwin's ``Rhapsody In Blue.''
The program's soloists will be principal Virginia Symphony trumpeter Stephen Carlson on cornet and Daniel Steiger, instructor at the Armed Forces School of Music, on euphonium.
Monday's Great Bridge performance, ``Evening at the Pops,'' will feature music either written by or made popular by Leroy Anderson (``Sleigh Ride'' and ``Typewriter Song'') and Arthur Fiedler, two well-known former music directors of the Boston Symphony Pops.
The Pops program will be presented again July 15 at Western Branch.
Berg said the Winds' pops performance will mark the 40th anniversary of Fiedler's appearance with the Maury High School Band at Norfolk's Center Theater in 1954. In addition, the Winds also have gotten quite a bit of support from the Anderson family.
``Mrs. Leroy Anderson has been a supporter and financial contributor of the Tidewater Winds,'' Berg said. ``She is now trying to get the United States Postal Administration to issue a stamp in honor of Leroy Anderson. We will ask our audiences to help endorse this effort.''
Other Winds' summer programs: ``The Music of Broadway,'' July 18 (GBHS) and 22 (WBHS); ``Concert Favorites,'' July 25 (GBHS) and 29 (WBHS); and ``A Broadway Spectacular,'' Aug. 1 (GBHS).
The Winds perform summer dates in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Portsmouth but have a particular affinity for Chesapeake.
``We are celebrating our 10th anniversary,'' Berg said. ``But we've only been playing in Chesapeake for the past nine. During our first year, even when we weren't performing in Chesapeake, we still received a $500 grant from the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission since we did have several musicians from the city. We've never had a city give us money when we weren't playing there, though. We've always been grateful to the Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission for its support. They are a wonderful bunch of people.''
Besides the Fine Arts Commission, Berg also had praise for the Winds' two Chesapeake venues.
``Both the Western Branch and Great Bridge high school auditoriums are marvelous facilities,'' he said. ``Both are air conditioned and have lots of space and seats, so Chesapeake people should get out there and enjoy a summer concert.'' ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
Who: The Tidewater Winds, a professional concert band in the
``Sousa band tradition,'' led by musical director Sidney Berg. Funds
for the Chesapeake concerts come from the Chesapeake Fine Arts
Commission and the Recording Industries Music Performance Trust
Funds, Local 126, American Federation of Musicians.
What: Free band concerts.
When: Friday and Monday, both concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. (See
story for other dates.).
Where: Friday at Western Branch High School, 4222 Terry Drive,
and Monday at Great Bridge High, 301 W. Hanbury Road.
Call: For more information about the Tidwater Winds summer
performing schedule or programs, call 464-9290.
WINDS ON TAPE
Want to take the Winds home with you? At each of its concerts,
the Tidewater Winds will be selling cassette tapes of past
concerts.
Titles include ``Mostly Classical,'' ``Mostly Broadway'' and
``Mostly Marches,'' taken from 1993 performances, and ``Lullabye of
Broadway (1991)'' and ``1992 Season Highlights.''
All tapes are $10, except for the 1992 Highlight double tape,
which sells for $15. Call 464-9290.
by CNB