Municipal bands swing into concert season

Cape Girardeau's municipal band will kick off its concert season Wednesday night with an opening concert featuring talent from Central Junior High School's recent production of the musical "Beauty and the Beast."

Jackson's municipal band will continue its season Thursday with its second concert, this one featuring fiddler and Cape Central High School orchestra director Steve Schaffner.

The bands, both a mix of high school, college and amateur and professional adult musicians will perform concerts throughout the summer -- the Cape Girardeau band every Wednesday at Capaha Park and the Jackson band every Thursday at the Jackson City Park.

Having the bands play on different nights is intentional, said Jackson Municipal Band director Nick Leist.

"We do have some people that play in both bands," Leist said. "They rehearse on Monday and perform Wednesday, we rehearse on Tuesday and perform Thursday."

Cape Girardeau's band is made up of about 45 musicians, while Jackson's bigger stage has room for about 50.

Ron Nall, director of the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, said the band has become a local tradition after more than 100 years of existence. Anywhere from 200 to 400 people show up for the weekly concerts at the Capaha Park band shell, most of them senior citizen, Nall said.

"Because of that, we schedule concert music based on what they like: marches, show tunes, medleys of old swing and jazz, generally what you would consider an old-time, traditional concert in the park," Nall said.

The local municipal bands do play music that will appeal to younger audiences, though. At Jackson's opening concert last week the band played a medley of songs by glam-rock legends Queen. Nall said Cape Girardeau's band will incorporate some younger material into the set on nights when a lot of students are in the audience, but "if you like band music and marches, any age would enjoy it."

Both bands feature guest performers at each concert, and the Jackson band has two "extended" concerts that start one hour early and feature a double billing with another performer or group. Those concerts will be June 14, when Saxy Jazz Transitions opens the show, and July 4, when Robyn Hosp and Mike Dumey perform.

msanders@semissourian.com

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