MC3 Band to offer a retrospective of symphonic band literature for April 20 performance
April 6, 2023
It’s been 30 years since the MC3 Band took the stage at Maryville College for the first time, and to celebrate that milestone, the ensemble has planned something of an anniversary performance for its annual spring concert.
The group, originally launched as the Maryville College-Community Concert Band, will play works by Robert Russell Bennett (“S.S. Eagle March”), Carl Orff and John Krance (“Carmina Burana”), Percy Grainger and Larry Daehn (“Themes from Green Bushes”), Julis Fucik and Andrew Glover (“The Old Grumbly Bear”), John Mackey (“Night on Fire”), and Chick Corea and Paul Murtha (“Spain”). The concert will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20, in the Clayton Center for the Arts on the MC campus.
“Our theme is celebrating 30 years of the MC3 Band being together, so we are performing quite a variety of symphonic band literature to showcase the talent of the group,” said Jay Romines, conductor of the MC3 Band. “This performance features Maryville College tuba instructor Jacob See. Jacob is a virtuoso, and we are fortunate to have him on the faculty.”
See will be a guest during the performance of “Old Grumbly Bear.” In addition, the MC3 Band will perform 13 of the 25 movements of “Carmina Burana,” originally written for orchestra, chorus and vocal students, Romines added.
“It is quite an undertaking for any band, and the MC3 is up to the challenge,” he said.
The MC3 Band was established in 1992 by the late Dr. Larry Smithee, an associate professor of music at Maryville College who directed the ensemble until his retirement in 2012. What began as a small group of mostly high school marching band veterans grew under his tenure into an ensemble of more than 60 musicians that performs two concerts per year and included working musicians, educators, high school and college students, business professionals and retirees from the local community.
Today, the group continues to perform traditional wind band compositions using a symphonic band instrumentation, and last fall, Romines came on board as conductor. A saxophonist by trade, he’s served as the College’s sax teacher for several years and has been the band director of Knoxville Catholic High School for 22 years.
“My first season with the MC3 Band has been a pleasure!” he said. “The members have made me feel welcome, and their level of performance is excellent. I look forward to working and growing together with this group next season.”
The April 20 performance will be held in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center, a venue to which Romines is excited to return after last fall’s Nov. 3 performance.
“The MC3 Band would sound great in any venue, but the Clayton Center certainly adds to our performance,” he said. “The acoustics are fabulous, and the overall aesthetic is world-class.”
Admission to the concert is free. For more information, call the Clayton Center box office at 865-981-8590.