Performing Group: Swingtime Jazz Band
Location: Melbourne Auditorium
Type: Concert

Hello!  Welcome to the first conductor’s blog from the Melbourne Municipal Band.  My name is Staci Cleveland, and I am the Associate Conductor of the MMB.  The concert band is rehearsing for our Celtic Concerts which are coming up on February 16 & 17 at the Melbourne Auditorium.  This is an exciting program which I know our audiences will really enjoy.  Just to give you an idea of what you are going to hear, we’ll have a suite of music from Riverdance, Four Scottish Dances by Malcolm Arnold, some standard favorites like The Irish Washerwoman, Grainger’s Irish Tune from County Derry and a beautiful trombone feature arranged by one of our own members, Jim McCreary, called Loch Lamond. Our warm up entertainment will be a short concert from a local Celtic band called “Kindred Spirits.”  They’ll kick off their performance at 6:45, and the main event will start at 7:30.   Even the intermission of this show will be entertaining, as we have the (almost world famous) Sunshine Brass Quintet scheduled to play for you.

This concert is especially exciting to me because I will also be auditioning for the principal conductor’s position with the MMB.  Our concerts over the next several months will feature guest conductors, all of whom will be vying for the position.  The MMB’s Board of Trustees (along with the band) will make their decision about who will be the new conductor later this year.  So come to the concerts this season and support the band as they interview and audition candidates.

I hope to see you in February!

Concert Kicks Off Auditions for New Conductor ~ Features Staci Cleveland

MELBOURNE, FL, January 20, 2010 – The Melbourne Municipal Band (MMB) will feature “A Celtic Concert” celebrating the musical legacy of Ireland and Scotland at 7:30 p.m. February 16 and 17 at the Melbourne Auditorium. It is the first in a series of concerts this year in which the band is auditioning candidates for the position of Principal Conductor.

Staci Cleveland, currently associate conductor, will audition for the principal spot during this event, leading the band in performing a variety of new selections, including a suite from the popular Riverdance program that contains airs, jigs and a percussion feature called “Thunder and Lightening.”

The program also will showcase new music that recently was added to the band’s library – thanks to the donations of audience members – such as “Be Thou My Vision,” a beautiful arrangement of a hymn tune which is derived from an old Irish ballad.

The band’s trombone section will be featured in a traditional rendition of “Loch Lomond,” arranged by one of the band’s newest members, Jim McCreary.  It is dedicated to the memory of Tim Hartselle, a former member of the MMB trombone section who recently passed away.

Special pre-show entertainment will begin at 6:45 with “Kindred Spirits,” a Celtic band. The MMB’s Sunshine Brass Quintet will provide intermission entertainment.

There is no charge for the concert and tickets are no longer required. The move is part of the MMB’s goal to make concert attendance easy for its audience and to save costs and eliminate the environmental impact of ticket printing. Call 724-0555 or visit www.mmband.org for more information.

About the Melbourne Municipal Band

The Melbourne Municipal Band (MMB), established in 1965, plays free concerts for the citizens of Brevard County nearly every month, and also contributes to the community through parades, patriotic concerts and ceremonial performances. Some 30 percent of the band’s 80-plus members are professional musicians. In a typical year, the band serves 69,000 concert attendees, and its members give 27,000 hours of community service in the form of rehearsals and performance time.

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