
The Lafayette Citizens Band is the keynote musical attraction Saturday night, as the Lafayette community marks Independence day with the "Stars and Stripes Celebration" at Slayter Center on the Purdue campus.
The evening begins at 7:00 with the Purdue Summer Jazz Band concert. The LCB takes the stage at 8:00, for a concert that includes great American music led by Musical Director Bill Kisinger. The band is joined by The Freedom Singers, conducted by Eric Van Cleave, former First Edition director at Jeff High School. Vocalists Dustin Hopkins and Twanna Harris also join the band for some vocal numbers.
At 9:00, there will be an intermission, while the Tippecanoe Fife and Drum Corps entertains. The LCB starts up again at 9:15, finishing the concert with the Battle Hymn of the Republic and the 1812 Overture, followed by the grand Fireworks Display at 10:00. You can see the complete program here.
Come to the hill at Slayter Center and celebrate the Fourth of July with the Lafayette Citizens Band. Admission is free and open to the public.

Left: Band fans line up for frozen custard at the LCB concert, provided by Rick Lodde of Snowbear.
Right: LCB President Bill Hooper presents a Resolution of Appreciation and Thanks to Mayor Rowarski and the City of Lafayette.

Left: Mayor Tony Rowarski displays the LCB's Resolution of Appreciation and the Percussion Section's Drum Head of Appreciation.
Right: Mayor Rowarski and city officials sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" at City Appreciation Night.

Left: The "Peripatetic Pesrcussionists" play "Whop Upside the Head!" on drumhead, a stick and a stool on City Appreciation Night.
Right: The Lafayette Citizens Band plays His Honor March by Henry Fillmore at Riehle Plaza.

Left: After a very hot concert four band members especially enjoy frozen custard provided by Snowbear..
Right: Musical Director Bill Kisinger gets his large helping of frozen custard from Rick Lodde at the close of the June 25 concert.
(Photos by Billy Hooper)

The LCB's Vintage Brass performed in Delphi for Canal Days on June 20.
Don Isaacs singing the National Anthem at the Canal Days celebration.

The Vintage Brass performing at the dedication of "The Delphi".
A portrait of The Vintage Brass.
(Photos by Billy Hooper)

The audience applauds the Lafayette Citizens Band at the end of the June 18 concert.

Left: Pam Nave provides sound effects for "The Syncopated Clock".
Center: The O'Connor sisters, Rhoda, Grace and Anna.
Right: Marti Becker leads the audience in the march "On the Mall".
(Photos by Billy Hooper)
Next week's concert is City Appreciation Night!

Saxaphone player Keith Adams discusses the program with volunteer Lynda Kelly.
See more pictures of the Vanity Fair concert here.
(Photos by Billy Hooper)
Veteran LCB member Bill Taylor was quoted by Musical Director Bill Kisinger, and it proved true once again. Although the chances did not look good at 3:30, by 7:30 on Thursday, the skies had cleared enough to keep the rain away. The Lafayette Citizens Band played its Thursday night concert to a loyal and appreciative audience.
The concert theme was "Vanity Fair", which is the name of a comedy overture by Percy Fletcher that the band played. The program also included a Sammy Nestico arrangement of Jimmy Van Heusen's song "Like Someone in Love", Leroy Anderson's "Clarinet Candy", the "American Patrol" march by Frank Meachan that was the basis for Glenn Miller's swing hit, a Warren Barker arrangement "Lerner and Loewe in Concert", and many more. You can see the complete "Vanity Fair" program here.

Thursday, June 4 was Lilly Family Night for the Lafayette Citizens Band at Riehle Plaza. Volunteers from Eli Lilly and Company gave out free popcorn and Pepsi-Cola to audience members for the concert. Lilly is the band's principal corporate sponsor, and has sponsored Lilly Family Night for many years now.
The concert was titled "Spirit of Spain", and featured numbers with a Spanish flair, including "Amparito Roca" by Jaime Texidor, Clifton Williams' "Fiesta" symphonic dance, "Impressions of Seville" by Harry Simeone, "Night Flight to Madrid" by Kermit Leslie, "La Bamba Vera Cruz" by Terig Tucci, selections from "Man of La Mancha" by Mitch Leigh, and more. You can see the complete program here.
Next Thursday evening's concert is titled "Vanity Fair", and starts at 7:30 pm. All LCB concerts at Riehle Plaza are free and open to the public.

Bill Kisinger conducts the Lafayette Citizens Band on High School Night.
See more photos of the LCB's High School Night concert here.
Only three days after the season opening Memorial Day concert, the Lafayette Citizens Band performed its annual High School Night concert on Thursday, May 28. Young musicians from seven area high schools sat side-by-side with LCB members, while band directors from six of them took turns guest-conducting.
High schools represented with their band directors includes Lafayette Jeff, Harrison, McCutcheon, West Lafayette, North White and Clinton Prairie. Students from Central Catholic High School also played with the band. You can see the complete program here.
Next Thursday, the band presents Lilly Family Night, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company. Free popcorn and Coca-Cola will be given away. The concert begins at 7:30. Come early to get a good location, and bring your lawn chair. All concerts of the Lafayette Citizens Band at Riehle Plaza are free and open to the public.

Three-year-old Adalyn Nelson dances as the band plays "Tribute to Irving Berlin".
See more photos of the LCB's Memorial Day concert here.
An audience estimated at over 400 people filled Riehle Plaza in Lafayette on Memorial Day, as the Lafayette Citizens Band opened the 2009 season with its annual Memorial Day concert.
Skies were gray, and a light rain began sprinkling as the band played its opening numbers, William Latham's "Proud Heritage" and Shostakovich's "Festive Overture". After that, Musical Director Bill Kisinger announced that the band would skip straight to the encore, John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever", to make sure that number was played in case the rest of the concert was rained out. That number was followed by the "Armed Forces Salute", during which veterans stood up and were recognized as their service songs were played.
The rain finally let up for good, and the band proceeded with the rest of the concert, which included "For Our Heroes"; a piece written by Alan Lee Silva to honor those who died on September 11, 2001; Meredith Willson's "Seventy-Six Trombones"; a new piece based on the tune My Country, 'Tis of Thee titled "American Visions" by Travis Weller; Warren Barker's "Tribute to Irving Berlin", Jerry Bilik's "American Civil War Fantasy", with a moving rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and more. The complete program can be found here.
The band's next concert is on Thursday of this week (May 28). It is the annual High School Night concert, when the area's top high school musicians sit and play side-by-side with LCB members, and their high school directors take turns guest conducting the band. The concert begins at 7:30.
Come early to get a good location, and bring your lawn chair. All concerts of the Lafayette Citizens Band at Riehle Plaza are free and open to the public.
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The Summer 2009 issue of Lafayette Magazine contains an article about the Lafayette Citizens Band on pages 20 and 21. You can purchase the magazine for $3.75 at bookstores and pharmacies around town, or subscribe here and get four issues for $3 each. |