Falling into Autumn…
Sunday, October 9th
3:00 PM – Roswell Cultural Arts Center

We start our season with a “pure” concert band concert. This concert features works by concert band masters Alfred Reed, Clifton Williams, and Fisher Tull, as well as popular modern composers Andrew Boyson and Samuel Hazo. Furthermore, we pay tribute to the rich heritage of orchestral transcriptions with Entry March of the Boyars by Johan Halvorsen. Master musician Frederick Fennell transcribed and edited this particular arrangement for wind band, so you know it’ll be as true to the original as possible – and so will we!

Wondrous Works of the Season!
Sunday, December 11th
3:00 PM – Roswell Cultural Arts Center

Our December concert will feature wonderful orchestral arrangements from the AWS library to celebrate the season. Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, and Handel are the musicians I have selected to represent the holidays, and with such musical clout behind us, how can we not celebrate! Many other seasonal selections as well.  What's your favorite?

Sounds of the Spirit
With Special Guests Organist Tom Alderman and Vocalist John LaForge 
Sunday, March 18th
3:00 PM – Roswell United Methodist Church

We will perform our March concert in the beautiful Roswell United Methodist Church as the featured artist with our friends Tom Alderman and John LaForge. This concert we will honor one of the original works for band: 

Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale by Hector Berlioz. John LaForge will be our guest soloist on American composer William Penn’s A Cornfield in July and The River. This work for medium voice and wind ensemble is based on the poetry and writings of Hamlin Garland. 

Tom Alderman joins us for two fantastic works – both being orchestral transcriptions. We start with Percy Grainger’s Power of Rome and a Christian Heart – a powerful musical journey, as only Grainger could create. In 1943 Grainger produced a work of gigantic proportions involving large wind band, organ, keyboard, tuneful percussion and optional string orchestra. It is a complex score that shows his superb use of all sections of the very large forces. Grainger arranged this work for organ and band (from the original version for organ and orchestra) as a result of a commission by the League of Composers. It remains one of his most controversial achievements. 

We will conclude this concert with the Finale movement of Saint-Saens’ Symphony No.3 also known as The Organ Symphony.

Great Music Inspired by Great Literature
Sunday, May 6th
3:00 PM – Roswell Cultural Arts Center

In May, we will perform musical works that have been created from treasured authors Dante Alighieri, Henry David Thoreau, and Herman Melville. 

Robert W. Smith writes that The Divine Comedy is based on the Dante’s literary classic of the same name. The story of Dante's trilogy is very basic: one day Dante finds himself lost in a dark wood. Virgil, a character based on the revered Roman poet, appears and rescues him. Virgil guides Dante to a contemplation of Hell and Purgatory. Dante, having confessed his faults, and with Beatrice as his guide, is led into Paradise and attains a glimpse of the face of God. We will perform The Divine Comedy in its entirety, which is over 25 minutes of music along with Chris Sharp’s Walden and Francis McBeth’s Of Sailors & Whales.

"It is an exciting time for the AWS and I am looking forward to seeing all of you at our concerts!"