Sheboygan Pops Concert Band Christmas concert Dec. 13

As it ends its 20th anniversary year, the Sheboygan Pops Concert Band – through its longtime director, Neil Mahnke and band president, Catherine Conely-Mink – extends an invitation to everyone in the Sheboygan area to celebrate the holidays at its annual Christmas Concert to be presented at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, at St. Mark Lutheran Church, 1019 N. Seventh St. (Seventh Street and Erie Avenue), Sheboygan.

There is no admission charge, but freewill offerings will be accepted.

As usual the first half of the concert will consist of selections from contemporary concert band repertory and the final portion will be music of the Christmas season, including the traditional sing-along.

The band will open the concert with the premier performance of a new and unusual arrangement of the “Star Spangled Banner.” Written by Randall Styx, it is titled “Star Spangled Banner for a Christmas Night.”

Styx, a retired pastor, is a member of the Sheboygan Pops Concert Band, playing contra-alto clarinet. He joined the band in May of this year. He is an accomplished musician, playing several instruments and has done several arrangements for choir and mixed instruments in Seattle and Sturgeon Bay, where he previously lived. He is presently working on an arrangement for band of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

The SPCD has always included marches in its appearances. In addition to the well-known Sousa marches, there have been the marches of Karl King and Henry Fillmore, two of the most prolific American composers of the 20th century. Fillmore had written a march for a movie that never materialized, and prior to his death, asked that it be renamed and dedicated to his good friend, Karl King. “King Karl King March” is the last composition of Fillmore and is certainly one his great ones.

“Variants on a Nautical Hymn,” arranged by Mark Williams, is based on the hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” better known as the “Navy Hymn.” The piece opens with a dramatic fanfare, followed by several variations on the familiar hymn.

“Amazing Grace” was written by John Newton, the captain of a slave ship. Newton prayed for deliverance during a vicious storm at sea. This was the beginning of a spiritual conversion. His career as a slave trader ended, and he later studied theology. The words he wrote have been associated with several melodies, but the most well known was published in 1835 in The Southern Harmony.

Allan Brusse, associate conductor of the SPCB, will conduct this new arrangement. “Amazing Grace” was heard throughout the United States after Sept. 11, 2001.

Brusse will also conduct the SPCB in “Highlights From the King and I” by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. The musical comedy based on the book “Anna and the King of Siam” is one of many classics written by that talented team.

A concert suite from the movie “The Polar Express” will conclude the first half of the concert. “The Polar Express” is the story of a boy who doubts the existence of Santa Claus and boards the Polar Express on Christmas Eve. Songs from the movie, “Believe,” “The Polar Express,” “When Christmas Comes to Town” and “Spirit of the Season” will be heard.

Intermission guest of the SPCB will be the bell choir of St. Mark Lutheran Church, also conducted by Brusse. Their program will be announced during their performance.

The second half of the concert will feature music of the Christmas season.

It opens with a medley of beloved Christmas songs, arranged by John Moss called The Sweet Sounds of Christmas. Included are “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Here We Come A-Wassailing,” “The Holly and the Ivy” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”

“The Bells of Christmas” is based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Written during the American Civil War, its message of “Peace on Earth” was in stark contrast to the harsh realities of the time. The St. Mark Lutheran Bell Choir will accompany the SPCB. The narration will be by Wade Heinen, band director at Sheboygan South High.

Elliot Del Borgo is a modern American composer and conductor. His setting of the haunting carol “Greensleeves” features a variety of instruments and complex rhythms in The Glory of Christmas.

George Frederic Handel's “Joy to the World” is one of the best-loved hymns associated with the holiday season. The audience is invited to sing this classic melody with the SPCB.

The concert concludes with Christmas on Broadway. The John Higgins arrangement includes “It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas,” “Pine Cones and Holly Berries,” “Toyland,” “March of the Toys,” “My Favorite Things,” “We Need a Little Christmas” and “God Bless Us, Everyone.”