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Memorial Concert Will Strike
Patriotic Note Patriotism will be on the program when the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce hosts the Second Annual September 11th Memorial Concert Thursday evening in the Lebanon High School auditorium. Some in the audience may remember last year's performance when about 1,300 people packed the hall to hear many of the same performers scheduled to make repeat appearances this week. Among them will be Anita Patton O'Connor, who, as she did last year, will appear with the 50-piece Lebanon Community Concert Band, the centerpiece of the event. Tim Erdman, the band's conductor and an adjunct professor of trumpet at Lebanon Valley College, chose the musical selections in consultation with chamber officials. He noted that "there's a patriotic chord in almost every piece we're playing." The patriotic flair suits Lebanon native Patton O'Connor perfectly. A professional singer who serves as musical director for the Chesapeake Music Hall in Annapolis, Md., and who performs a monthly cabaret show there, as well as a weekly show at a local hotel, she said her music has taken on new substance since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Ever since, every time I've sung a patriotic song it holds a whole new meaning," Patton O'Connor said in a telephone interview from her Annapolis home. "We have to think about the one positive thing that came out of that tragedy: Our country is more unified. ... People seem to be much more proud of being an American." Patton O'Connor will reprise her performance of "God Bless America," although this year it will be a less traditional version, Erdman said. "It's a very interesting Celine Dion arrangement ... really different. It's neat, very dramatic. Very quiet in the beginning. I get chills thinking about it," he said. Patton O'Connor, who won't arrive in Lebanon until Thursday afternoon, will rehearse using a recording made by the band, which is much like what she did when she sang with them this summer at the Music in the Park series in Lebanon's Coleman Memorial Park, she explained. "It should be okay, as long as they don't change the arrangement," she said. "At least I'll be able to talk it through with Tim (Erdman)." She admits preferring more traditional renditions and will not try to sound like the Canadian diva. "I like (traditional songs) done the way they were written," Patton O'Connor said. "(But the Dion version of 'God Bless America') is a very stirring, tasteful arrangement. I'm not going to emulate her but I'll do it the best way I can." Patton O'Connor will also perform a medley of tunes from "The Sound of Music," Erdman added. He said the concert will kick off with "Strike Up The Band," by George and Ira Gershwin, followed by an assortment of marches. Also on the program is "Universal Judgment," which Erdman said is "a classic in the repertoire of concert bands." "The piece has some very dramatic moments in it," he said. "The trumpets simulate a choir of angels. ... Musicians really like to sink their teeth into this one." Along with Patton O'Connor and the concert band, the bill will feature Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce president Harriet Faren, who will try her hand as guest conductor for the "Chimes of Liberty" march. In addition, dancers from Judy Williams Henry's Movement Laboratory will perform along with "Mississippi Suite." "This is not a July Fourth concert," Erdman said. "It's not a fireworks type of concert, and yet it reflects something celebratory about the American spirit, which we've always had, even in our worst moments." The music, he said, should "swell the heart ... but at the same time commemorate what happened (the attacks) and go from there." In addition to music, the program will also include speakers Brig. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, deputy adjutant general, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and Lebanon mayor Robert Anspach. Although tickets to the free event are no longer available, chamber spokeswoman Karen Groh said empty seats will be filled on a first-come basis. ------ The Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold its Second Annual September 11th Memorial Concert on Thursday, Sept. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Lebanon High School auditorium. |
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