Cheers repeatedly rang out — together with occasional syncopated finger snapping and the continual audience clapping — at last Sunday afternoon’s Reunion Concert hosted by Lake City Stinger Band. The annual reunion concert brought together not only exceptional local instrumental talent but also top notch visiting musicians from throughout Colorado.In all, 52 instrumentalists took part in the at-times sedate and lyrical “Landscapes”-themed concert featuring woodwind musicians, alternating with an at-times tempestuous music tempo served up by the brass and percussion musicians.Integral to the entire, enthralling performance was the conductor, Dr. Brett Keating of Western Colorado University, Gunnison, who exuberantly supervised both pre-concert rehearsals on Friday and Saturday, as well as the 60-minute afternoon concert on Sunday. Among the scores of finely tuned musicians were members of Lake City Stinger Band. A delight to the assembled musicians’ brass section were Jim Rowe and Bill Goodwin, trombone; Ken Matzick and Tara Hardy, trumpet, together with former resident Leslie Klusmire, up from the San Luis Valley who added critical oomph on the bass drum in the band’s percussion section.Conductor Keating was animated throughout the performance, powerfully wielding his baton as he encouraged the woodwind, brass, and percussion sections of the band from the central podium. At the conclusion of each selection, with applause ringing, Keating then gestured toward the musicians, routinely leaving the podium to applaud from the sidelines. Starting promptly at 2 p.m. in the school’s gymnasium — and with a 10-minute intermission — the Reunion Concert featured two resonating programs, the first starting out with the lyrical woodwind section showcased with Carmen Dragon’s lilting rendition of “America the Beautiful”.This was followed in succession by brass and woodwind sections featured in Rika Ishige’s “A Miniature Town”, and then a clear audience favorite — and one of two trumpet solos during the afternoon — visiting musician John Prillo performing the fast-paced “La Virgen de la Macarena”.Introduced by Keating and pictured on the front page of this week’s edition, Prillo is a masterful brass musician with a clear empathy between both conductor and audience. Keating stated he has conducted Prillo at five separate public performances and encouraged him to travel to Lake City, “because I just can’t get enough.”Equally as enthralling was the instrumental “The Monarch” with its composer, Dr. Ben Justice, head of the WCU Music Dept., in the audience. Slight of build, bearded, and equally as animated as the conductor, Justice explained the inspiration for writing the piece and in reference to more venerable selections which were played in the program, assuring the audience, “Yes, I am the composer and I am not dead.”Justice explained the fascinating inspiration for “The Monarch” as a tribute to Monarch Pass, the instrumental starting off lilting at the base of the envisioned high mountain pass and its fast-paced tempo predictably increasing. A few moody chords are included in the presentation, reflecting “scary parts,” according to Justice based on winter crossings of the mountain pass.In all, with Prillo on trumpet and joined by brass, woodwind, and percussion portions of the band, “The Monarch” is a vibrant and grand mountain processional.Ending the first half of the presentation on a high note, band members performed the fast-tempo, rhythmic “Byzantine Dances” by Carol Brittin Chambers which was accompanied by audience and musicians snapping their fingers, rhythmic hand clapping and a concluding spirited and unanimous yell, “yahh!”The “Landscapes” theme of Sunday’s concert was evident after a 10-minute intermission starting with a traditional favorite, the audience gleefully clapping in accompaniment as the band rolled out John Phillip Sousa’s 1889 classic march, “The Thunderer”. Pierre Plante’s “American River Song” was next, again showcasing woodwind instrumentalists with the lyrical “Shenandoah” refrain meandering through it and with John Prillo, trumpet, and lilting clarinet and flute.The second solo trumpet selection — and again followed by resounding applause and gleeful smile from conductor — was Mike Gill performing Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”. The afternoon’s concluding selection was the soaring, three-part “Redrock Mountain” written by the Italian composer Rossano Galante and including passages with familiar and well-loved melodies from American film. At the concert’s conclusion, audience stood and clapped, Conductor Keating once again raising his arms and smiling as he made a broad gesture toward musicians and exited the podium to join the applauding audience.Sunday’s performance included brief introductory remarks by Lake City Band’s Ken Matzick who marveled at a fine culmination after just seven cumulative hours rehearsal time by the visiting and local musicians. “It’s a wonder,” he said, “as it comes together.”Matzick — familiar to Lake City audiences as he joins Tara Hardy performing Taps at both the May and November Veterans’ ceremonies in Veterans’ Park — expressed thanks which included Rebecca Hall, staff, and school district for use of gymnasium and school facilities; school facilities manager Darren Hardy; Tara Hardy and Terry Anderson for promotion; and Bill Goodwin, Jim Rowe, Mike Gill, and Dave Menapace for logistics, including transport and set up of instruments.
