Purchase tickets now for our first performance of the New Year
Gaylord, MN, JANUARY 27, 2020 – After a pause to avoid (fingers crossed) any massive snow storms, La Grande Bande’s inaugural 2019 – 2020 Concert Season resumes in a few weeks. If you don’t have your tickets for the March 6 concert already, we suggest you get them now. You can purchase them at www.lagrandebande.org/tickets.
The March concert’s activities begin in mid-February with a masterclass for Sibley East High School’s Concert Band. Our Music & Artistic Director will be participating in this masterclass. On March 6, select members of La Grande Bande will participate in a masterclass with Sibley East High School’s Concert Choir. Later on March 6, from 2:00-4:00 pm, La Grande Bande will host an open rehearsal session in the Sibley East Auditorium. No tickets or reservations are required to attend the Open Rehearsal Session.
La Grande Bande’s third 2019–2020 Season concert, Concert III: Lively Entertainments, will feature two of Baroque music’s treasures: Bach’s Orchestral Suite (Ouverture) No. 1 and Handel’s cantata Apollo e Dafne.
“Handel’s Italian cantata is based on a story written by the ancient Roman poet Ovid. It’s an incredible piece of dramatic writing from one of the most prolific and talented opera composers from the Baroque era,” explained Music & Artistic Director Michael Thomas Asmus. Don’t fret, we’ll be projecting English translations of the Italian for the performance.
And even though the cantata won’t be performed with costumes or a set, Asmus noted that “Handel’s music creates this magnificent musical landscape—tuneful harps, bugle calls, scurrying feet—all the while presenting a beautiful, tragic, and mysterious story.”
Soprano Catherine Sandstedt and baritone Justin Anthony Spenner, two singers from our November concert, will return to sing the Handel cantata.
Bach’s Orchestral Suite (Ouvertüre) is equally as remarkable. “I think some of the best music Bach ever wrote can be found in his orchestral pieces. This is really where he could find joy in writing; where he wasn’t obligated to write every week like for the Church cantatas—they’re also super great, too, don’t get me wrong,” Asmus said. “The ouvertüres are so French, so majestic, and yet so ‘Bach’ all at the same time. If you’ve never heard Baroque dances, and even if you have, you’ll leave the concert a completely different person.”
The March concert will also feature two unique instruments which have never been heard in the region before: Baroque oboe and Baroque bassoon. Both instruments have such an extraordinary sound which their modern equivalents cannot equal.
Find more information about the upcoming, visit www.lagrandebande.org.
Friday, March 6 @ 7:00 pm
Sibley East Auditorium
202 Third Ave NW
Arlington, MN 55307
Tickets: $5 (advance), $7 (at door)
Purchase online at www.lagrandebande.org/tickets
** This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. **