CAPE GIRARDEAU MUNICIPAL BAND TO OPEN 64TH SEASON

The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band opens its 64th concert season Wednesday with a performance in Capaha Park.

The free concert begins at 8 p.m. at the band shell. Concerts will be performed each Wednesday at the park through Aug. 21.

Jon Fisher, who conducts the band, said the season will be dedicated to Desert Storm.

"Each week a patriotic musical selection will be performed to salute the men and women of the armed forces," he said.

Members of the band put the finishing touches on music for their first performance at a rehearsal Monday.

Fisher said the band includes a variety of musicians, including music teachers and professors, semi-professional musicians, college students, high school students and community members.

"We have 45 members and it is a full concert band. We have all the instruments," Fisher said. "It is a very unique group: not only must they be superior musicians, they must also sight-read music very well."

During the summer season the band performs 12 concerts.

"Each one is different," Fisher said. "We have one rehearsal the Monday before and then perform a concert on Wednesday."

Fisher has conducted the band for 14 seasons. He said it's an institution.

"It gives the members an opportunity to play and to continue performing," he said.

He said the community has been supportive of its municipal band over the years. "We have real good audiences," Fisher said.

To keep attracting audiences, Fisher said he plans musical selections for each concert to appeal to different musical tastes.

"We always have marches. Marches are very popular," he said. "We usually have one overture. That's the `heavy' music for the evening. Then we play pop or jazz music, and we usually close with selections from a Broadway musical. This year we have added the patriotic section."

Fisher said the "Celebrity Guest Conductor" program will continue this season. A community leader, who is not necessarily a musician, is asked to direct the band for one selection.

The celebrity guest conductor for the first concert will be Mayor Gene Rhodes, who will conduct "His Honor March."

And each performance features an entertainer or group from outside the municipal band.

Special entertainment at Wednesday's concert will be provided by the award-winning Central High School Jazz Band under the direction of Ron Nall.

Other selections on Wednesday's program include "A Festive Overture," Trumpets Ole," "A Salute to Gershwin," "Second American Folk Rhapsody" and selections from the Broadway musical, "The Music Man."

The band is sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department. Spectators should bring lawn chairs.