La Grande Bande’s 2019-2020 Season Picks Up Where It Left Off

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. **

New Perks coming for 2020

Gaylord, MN, January 8, 2020 – With the new year comes a few new things for La Grande Bande. We’re always trying to innovate and be the best that we can be. So, here’s what’s new for us in the New Year:

YouTube Channel

La Grande Bande is excited to share some great news: we’re now on YouTube! Use the button below to be directed to our YouTube Channel.

We’ll upload a lot of things there, including videos from many of our concerts. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel! That way you can keep up-to-date with every video we upload.

Sustaining Contributors

You can make your contributions to even further by enrolling as a Sustaining Contributor. Break your contribution in to smaller amounts that are given every month. Sustaining Contributors provide La Grande Bande with steady income throughout the year, helping us achieve our fundraising and programming goals.

Sustaining contributors are also eligible to receive several special perks. Such as

• Early access to our new Director’s Blog
• Several super secret perks

You can learn more about those by clicking the button below.