A Winter Warm-Up Presented by The Upper Valley Community Band

A Winter Warm-Up

Presented by The Upper Valley Community Band

January 30, 2010 Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon NH

On a very cold Saturday night the Upper Valley Community Band presented its “A Winter Warm-Up at the Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon NH. The 70 + piece band, composed of people from all over the Upper Valley and points beyond, under the able direction of Carole Blake and Assistant Director Cynthia Boehm-Patenaude, performed for some brave souls who ventured out on a cold winter’s night to hear a little music.

The group opened with “Star Spangled Banner” and continued on for over 1.5 hours (with a 15 minute intermission) performing tunes ranging from Sousa to Strauss. The selections included songs from “West Side Story” directed by guest conductor, Ralph Bowie. Also included was a “Salute to Bob Hope”, a selection of tunes from his “On the Road” movies, which was quite snappy and entertaining. The group closed with some signature Big Band tunes that had the audience on its feet and clapping.

Since the 1860’s there has been a community band presence in the Upper Valley, the first being the Norwich Militia Band. In the 1970s the band reactivated at the Hanover-Norwich Community Band and performed on the lawn of the Dartmouth Hill and the Norwich bandstand. In 1990, the band changed its name to the Upper Valley Community Band. The band has performed at many festivals in Burlington VT and Boston MA but they have also traveled internationally to Germany in 1997 and France in 2007. Their next performance, locally, their Spring Concert is scheduled for May 8, 2010 at the Lebanon Opera House.

For more information about the band, please visit their website:

http://www.uvcb.org/