The Scottsdale Concert Band, now in its 42nd season, will perform works with a Slavic theme when it gives a free concert at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at Coronado High School ‘s Eugene L. Hanson Auditorium, 7501 E. Virginia Ave., Scottsdale.
A highlight of the Slavic/Russian themed concert will be pianist Andrew O’Brien performing the first movement of Serge Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
Also on the program will be Shrine of the Fallen, written by Brian Bamages in response to the tragic events in Kiev in 2014. The music draws on the old Ukrainian folk song Plyve Kacha, which became an anthem for many protestors as a symbol of national pride while also mourning the fallen.
The band additionally will perform Symphonic Dances from Fiddler on the Roof; P.I. Tschaikovsky’s March Slav; Dance of the Knights from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet; and A Slavic Farewell by Vasilij Ivanovitj Agapkin.
O’Brien received his doctoral degree in piano performance from Arizona State University. He has performed at Boston College, Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire and in Italy under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation.
He currently is an adjunct faculty instructor in piano and music theory at Scottsdale Community College and also teaches privately in the Phoenix area.
The Sudler Silver Scroll award-winning community symphonic band, directed by Michele Kalo, is sponsored by Scottsdale Community College and performs four concerts per year.
The Sudler Silver Scroll is presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation and is the most prestigious award available to a community concert band.
For more information about the band and to hear recordings from previous concerts, go to www.scottsdaleconcertband.org, or call Michele Kalo, (602) 327-3168.
