Cape band's last concert today

Leading up to the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band's final concert of the season at 8 p.m. today (Aug. 10), Chris Goeke was performing quadruple duty.

In addition to his usual spot as a trumpet player and announcer at the band's weekly summer concerts, Goeke also has filled the roles of vocal arranger and featured vocalist. The latter is a title shared by his wife, Lori Shaffer.

"I had to completely write the tunes for 'Les Mis,'" Goeke said. "I spent five or six hours just this week."

The husband and wife duo will help the band's season go out with a bang by singing selections from the musicals "Show Boat," "Les Miserables" and "The Sound of Music."

Both are trained musicians familiar with the great musical tunes, and Shaffer is looking forward to the chance to sing multiple parts from each musical -- parts of characters that are sometimes vastly different.

"I feel bipolar in 'Les Mis,'" said Shaffer.

Playing along with vocals isn't the norm for the band, which usually serenades audiences with the sounds of brass, woodwinds and percussion only.

But for the final concert, director Ron Nall thought it would be appropriate to add the vocal proficiency of Goeke and Shaffer to the mix to enhance the concert's theme, "Musical Night." The band has performed with vocals before, but not this season.

"A guy I know told me one time that he did a survey and a vocal soloist was one of the most popular things to include in a band," Nall said.

The vocal solos aren't the only treat for the audience at the band's final concert. Special entertainment will be provided by a group of bluegrass musicians, and celebrity guest directors will include children from the audience on a simple march tune.

The band is all about having fun, which is made apparent by the selection "What's Up at the Symphony?," a medley of pieces made popular by Warner Brothers' "Looney Tunes" cartoons. As they practiced Monday night, announcer Goeke practiced his Porky Pig stutter on the classic line "That's all folks."

Nall said the season so far has gone great and the final concert should cap that momentum.

"I started this job 13 years ago," Nall said. "As I've gotten older, I wondered if it was going to go downhill, but it hasn't."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

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Want to go?

What: Cape Girardeau Municipal Band's final concert of the season

When: 8 p.m. today (Aug. 10)

Where: Capaha Park band shell