Oskaloosa City Band Welcome Mahaska County Cattlemen Back
A large crowd helped the Oskaloosa Municipal Band kick off 100 years of the current bandstand.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – As the old saying goes, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”, holds true for Thursday night’s city band concert. Back by popular demand, the Mahaska County Cattlemen will be grilling on the square, beginning at 5 p.m. With a goal of raising money for the Oskaloosa Band Boosters, steak sandwiches, hamburgers, and jumbo hotdogs; along with chips, beverages, and baked items will be available for purchase.
Guest conductor, Rich Waddington, instrumental music teacher at Oskaloosa High School, will be leading the band’s 8:00 p.m. performance.
This week’s marches include: John Philip Sousa’s “Manhattan Beach”, and Karl King’s “Torch of Liberty” and “Gallant Marines”. The band will also play a Mexican March, entitled “Zacatecas”.
“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” is a well known hymn and Jay Dawson wrote an arrangement for band with beautiful harmonies.
“Entrance of the Gladiators” was originally written as a military march, but gained popularity in the early 1900’s as a circus march, often used to introduce the clowns. “Olympia Hippodrome” was written by Russell Alexander while he was a member of the Barnum and Bailey Circus band. Both of these pieces have been arranged by Andrew Glover, of Barnhouse Publishing.
The band will play a popular gospel-jazz tune from the big band era by Sy Oliver, entitled, “Yes, Indeed”.
First written in 1934, “Blue Moon” has been recorded by Billie Holiday, Mell Torme, Eric Clapton, and Rod Stewart.
While listening to “Marching Down Broadway”, listeners will hear “Hey Look Me Over”, “Consider Yourself”, and “76 Trombones”.
This week, we will meet a few more band members, beginning with the French Horn section. Olganida Gruber has played in the band over 30 years. She is a retired teacher, having spent 37 years in first grade at North Mahaska. She now provides supervision to student teachers at Buena Vista. Her son, John, played trombone in the band while in school and is a band director in Omaha.
Lynn Reasor has been in the band for about 16 years. He lives in Sigourney and spent 35 years working as an EMT. He is now “semi-retired” and works as the Biomedical Safety Officer at Keokuk County Health Center.
Alyssa Phillips is in her second year. She is a sophomore at Grandview University in Des Moines, where she is enrolled in the bachelor of nursing program. This summer she has worked as a CNA in a nursing home and also works at the YMCA daycare center.
Chris Meinert represents baritone section. This is his 2nd year in the band and he is a second generation member. His mom, Anita, plays in the clarinet section. Chris will be a senior at William Penn University and is majoring in music.
The bassoon section includes Prudy Olson. Prudy has played in the band for 11 years. She is in her first year as the band’s secretary. She is a piano teacher and is a leader of the Worship Team at Evangelical Church of Oskaloosa.
Kendall DenHartog is a member of the clarinet section and has been in the band four years. He will be a sophomore at William Penn University, majoring in music. He would like to be a studio musician after graduation. He also plays clarinet, guitar, saxophone, and bass (guitar). He is a member of a small rock band, “Boomerang Jack”.
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary, each week, there will be a prize drawing near the end of the concert. This week’s featured sponsor is Quality Car Wash, and their contribution is five free car washes. Quality Car Wash is located at 1101 A Avenue West. Please sign up at the table at the base of the bandstand. Each week, the winner, who must be present to win, will be announced prior to the playing of the National Anthem.
Also available, at the sign up table, are complimentary copies of booklets commemorating the 100th anniversary of the bandstand.
