Maryville College-Community Concert (MC3) Band takes the Clayton Center stage on Nov. 14 for fall concert
Oct. 16, 2024
From a century-old cornerstone masterwork of the concert band repertoire to a piece composed less than a decade ago, the MC3 Band will present “Band Classics, Old and New” during a concert slated for Nov. 14.
Officially known as the Maryville College-Community Concert Band, the ensemble is in its third year of leadership by esteemed musician and director Jay Romines. In putting together a program for a fall concert, it only made sense to dabble in both classics and contemporary works, he said.
“One of the works, the Holst Suite in E-flat, was one of the first compositions written for band in the 20th century,” Romines said. “And then there’s also on the bill ‘Of Our New Day Begun,’ which was written by Omar Thomas in 2015 but has already become a much-performed work for our band.”
The concert, which takes place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts, will also feature “Pepita Greus,” a Spanish military march that evolved into a dance by Pascual Perez Chovi; “With Each Sunset (Comes the Promise of a New Day)” by Richard Saucedo, an emotional and uplifting song of hope; “Blessed Are They,” the first movement of Johannes Brahms’ “German Requiem,” scored for band by Barbara Buehlman; and “Stevie Wonder in Concert,” a combination of many of the soul legend’s classic songs, arranged for concert band by Paul Murtha.
“The musical selections are demanding, but we are working toward a fine performance, thanks to the willingness of the members to work hard at each and every rehearsal,” Romines said.
Now in its 32nd year, the MC3 Band was established in 1992 by the late Dr. Larry Smithee, and Romines took the reins at the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year. A saxophonist with a reputation for talent and taste in the East Tennessee music scene, Romines has served as Maryville College’s saxophone teacher for a number of years, and has served as the band director of Knoxville Catholic High School for almost a quarter-century.
“Certainly these connections have helped, and I’m honored that area band directors and private instructors have really supported the MC3 Band,” Romines said.
MC3 Band members include working musicians, educators, high school and college students, business professionals and retirees from throughout East Tennessee. Using a symphonic band instrumentation, the band performs repertoire from the entire scope of the wind band tradition.
“As always, the band members have come together and achieved a fine balance due to their work ethic in and outside of our rehearsals,” Romines said.
While the Nov. 14 concert will mark the end of the MC3 Band’s performances during the 2024 calendar year, two shows are on the MC Division of Fine Arts schedule for the spring semester: an MC3 Band chamber concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, and a spring performance at 7 p.m. April 3, again in the Clayton Center’s Nutt Theatre.
“We are already looking forward to performing another Omar Thomas work, ‘Come Sunday,’ and I just want to thank the faculty, staff and administrators of Maryville College for the opportunity to perform together,” Romines said.
The Nov. 14 performance is free and open to the public.