We've just boarded the bus following our concert at Illinois College in Jacksonville, IL.
Upon arriving at THQ this morning we were challenged by an unplowed parking lot following a 4.4 inch snowfall in Des Plaines. We found a way to park our cars, waited for a former bandsman to snowblow a spot big enough for the bus and then waited as the plow finally cleared the ramp leading to the THQ garage. The bus was quickly loaded, we all boarded and found the bus was stuck on the ramp. After the entire band got off of the bus, the driver (a new one for us) was able to get enough traction to get out of the parking lot.
The ride down was uneventful with a quick lunch stop in Bloomington, IL. After lunch we discovered that the new bus we are on has both satellite TV and WiFi. Nice perk!
The concert tonight at Illinois College was part of their fine arts series. Bandmaster Himes had been commissioned to write a piece commemorating the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The piece included band accompaniment for choir which required rehearsal with the Illinois College Concert Choir supplemented by select members of the MacMurray College Choir and the Jacksonville High School Concert Choir. Following rehearsal we had a pasta dinner and prepared for the evening concert.
The concert went well, but I suspect readers may be more interested in text from the world premier of "A Lincoln Reflection " by William Himes.
We Sing of you, O Abraham
We sing of you, O Abraham,
In your own words - and ours,
The keeper of a nation's dreams,
You shine among the stars.
When nation, warring 'gainst itself,
Was put to awful test,
It fell to you to lead us through
This hell to find our best.
You faced the conflict of the age -
Momentous destiny!
And fought the battle to the end
For all men to be free.
In addition to this original text by Bandmaster Himes excerpts from Lincoln himself from "My Childhood's Home" and the "Second Inaugural Address" are included in the piece before the following final original text from Himes.
We sing of you, O Abraham,
The son of Heartland plain.
For it is true, the likes of you
Won't come this way again.
And though you left us all too soon,
Cut down by evil fate,
You are the man, the monument,
A life we celebrate.
O Abraham! We mourned you then -
We mourn you to this day.
Your words still burn within our hearts
And never fade away.
A flickering torch,
A single flame,
You lit our destiny
And we will never, never be the same.
The piece, commissioned by the Jacksonville Area Lincoln Bicentennial Commission resulted in a standing ovation.
For those interested, the concert included:
"The Good Old Way" (Broughton)
"Slavische Fantasie" (Hohne/Graham, Beth Cooper, soloist)
"This I Know" (Camsey, Brett Tolcer, soloist)
"Symphonette" (Bulla)
"A Lincoln Reflection" (Himes)
"Rigaudon" (Campra, Dr. Rudolph Zuiderveld, organ soloist)
Intermission
"Dance Like David" (Mackereth)
"Celestial Morn" (Condon, Joshua Turner, soloist)
"Soon and Very Soon" (Crouch, Karl Strand soloist)
"He Leadeth Me" (Gilmore/Kellner)
"American Civil War Fantasy (Bilik)
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" (Sousa)
"Choral Benediction" (Himes)
Heading the 45 minutes back to Springfield, IL where we will spend the night with billets before participating in a Sunday morning worship service at the First Presbyterian Church (Lincoln's Church).
2 comments:
How can I hear a recording of the Lincoln composition?
So far, the only performances of this were done during this particular weekend and we have not yet done a formal recording of it. However, you may check with the music department at Illinois College. They may have a recording of the live performance from that evening.
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