Saturday With The CSB In The Fox Cities region of WI

It's been a very long day for the members of the CSB. We left our headquarters this morning at 9:00 am and have just gotten to our hotel (a very nice one) in downtown Appleton, WI where it is about 11:45 pm. Though long, the day has been very good.

The first stop of the day for us was at Kaukauna High School where we were led in a clinic format by our own Bandmaster William Himes. Bandmaster Himes spent a great deal of time describing the instrumentation, scoring and technique of the brass band. The clinic was very well attended and the more than 100 young people and adults were very attentive.

Following the clinic we proceeded to Lawrence Memorial Chapel on the campus of Lawrence University in Appleton where we rehearsed with the White Heron Chorale, our hosts for the evening. The theme for the evening was "Grateful Hearts & Voices" and included several solo items from both the White Heron Chorale and the CSB. Full details of the concert will follow for those who really want to know. But, the evening of music was a delightful blend of classical choral and brass band music of many genres.

The White Heron Chorale is conducted by Dr. Paul Nesheim. Their assistant conductor is John Stangel and their accompanist is Susan Neebel.

An interesting twist to the evening was the inclusion of 13 high school vocalists in the White Heron Chorale. The Chorale includes these "Master Singers" as part of their tradition in their annual fall concert.

At the conclusion of the concert the CSB proceeded to Christ the Rock church to set up for participation in two worship services that will take place in the morning. Once set up we returned to our hotel to complete our day. So, as I said earlier, it was a good day...

For those of you who are interested, here's a listing of the items that were performed in the evening concert:

• "Now Thank We All Our God" - White Heron Chorale/CSB (Cruger/Rutter, arr. Himes)
• "Deo Dicamus Gratias" - White Heron Chorale (Homilius)
• "Alles was Odem Hat" - White Heron Chorale (Bach)
• "All Things Bright and Beautiful" - White Heron Chorale Ensemble (Silvey)
• "Clear Skies" - CSB; Peggy Thomas, soloist (Ball)
• "Song For Lotta" - CSB; Brett Tolcher, soloist (Sanderstrom)
• "Dakota Dawn" - White Heron Chorale; Toni Kuo Weijola, soloist (Fissinger)
• "I Often Dance" - White Heron Chorale (Nesheim)
• "A Lincoln Reflection" - White Heron Chorale/CSB; David Been, soloist (Himes)
• "Melodies of Dvorak" - CSB (Dvorak, arr. Steadman-Allen)

• INTERMISSION

• "Concertante for Cornets" - CSB (Bulla)
• "Prelude to Peace" - White Heron Chorale High School Master Singers (Stroope)
• "I Love You Truly" - White Heron Chorale Barbershop Quartet (Jacobs-Bond)
• "Laughing Song" - White Heron Chorale; Suzanne Bunker Jordheim, flutist (Dickau)
• "Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good to Me" - CSB (arr. Alexander)
• "Come, You Who Are Filled" - White Heron Chorale; Jennifer Hodges Bryan, oboist (Hal)
• "What A Wonderful World" - White Heron Chorale; Mary Schmidt, soprano; Bob Williams, bass
• "The Promise of Living" - White Heron Chorale/CSB (Copland)
• "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" - White Heron Chorale/CSB (Steffe, arr. Wilhousky)