Send in the clowns … er, musicians! Maryville College Tartanband plans to get funny at April 15 show
April 2, 2025
It’s time for this season’s Tartanband concert, a showcase of talent from Maryville College’s concert band, and this one is composed to make the audience laugh.
Dr. Eric Simpson, Tartanband’s director as well as an MC associate professor of music and director of bands, explained that this season’s concert, scheduled for April 15 at the Clayton Center for the Arts, puts comedy at the forefront and has a little bit of everything.
“The concert is called ‘Punchline.’ It’s a ‘Tartanband-does-comedy concert,’” Simpson said. “‘Concert band’ as an activity doesn’t usually leave a lot of room for humor, so exploring that has been fun for the band.”
Songs will include: The “Finale” from the ballet “The Pineapple Poll” by Arthur Sullivan; “The Saints Hallelujah” by Luther Henderson; “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim; the “Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion” by PDQ Bach and the “Tutued Toucan Can-Can” by Erika Svanoe, Simpson said. Other works will be on the program, but he wants to keep them a secret as a surprise for the audience.
Tartanband has had a full academic year, having played as the Pep Band for MC’s men’s and women’s basketball teams and the Collegiate Conference of the South championship-winning football team, as well as hosting the Blount County Band Festival earlier this year. The ensemble will also perform during the May 3 Commencement ceremony on Humphreys Court in the middle of the Maryville College campus.
While the April 15 concert will feature solos from several different students, Simpson highlighted those in the song “Send in the Clowns,” in which trombone player Gabe Hatcher ’25 and trumpet player Matt Hurst ’26 will have solos highlighting the original inquisitive intention behind the song.
“Stephen Sondheim said that he thought of a melody as a series of questions, which translates for wind players into very short phrases. Matt and Gabe are doing a really nice job of connecting those phrases to form a complete idea,” Simpson explained.
Hatcher is excited about the difference in music this concert, in regards to both the humor and difficulty level.
“My excitement this concert season can mostly be drawn from the music being a bigger challenge than last semester,” he said. “It’s fun to have something to progress with and finally watch it all come together into something truly great. This concert is unique to me because of the amount of jokes for both the audience and the ensemble to enjoy. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t cracked a smile in the middle of playing.”
Although Tartanband is made up of students, at its essence, it’s a community whose members share memorable moments with each other, Hatcher explained, and this community is created through something simple: kindness and acceptance. The Tartanband creates impactful, fun and interesting music for the public to enjoy, and the members hope that the audience will enjoy the humor in their upcoming performance, he added.
The Tartanband spring concert will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre of the Clayton Center. It is free and open to the public. Those with questions regarding the organization or the concert are encouraged to reach out to eric.simpson@maryvillecollege.edu.
Written by Lilli Bryan ’25