Jazz singer Amanda Carr, an audience favorite, returns for the Concord Band’s annual Spring Pops concert on Saturday, April 11, 7:00 PM at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center in Concord. The program features Ms. Carr and her fresh interpretations from the Great American Songbook and New York themed songs. Another special highlight is Lilly’s Story, the premiere of a unique composition inspired by a 12-year-old from Brockton, named Lilly, and her family.
Ms. Carr will perform Cheek to Cheek by Irving Berlin, as well as Cole Porter’s Night and Day and Anything Goes. Amanda also performs vocals on Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind, and a song that Amanda wrote called Maybe. With five jazz vocal recordings, Ms. Carr continues to perform as a solo artist and guest host. A true collaborator, Amanda Carr is a coach for vocal students while still writing and composing music.
The Concord Band collaborated with Sing Me A Story, an organization that commissioned Boston Conservatory student composer, Luciano Lopez-Parnetti, to present Lilly’s Story, a new composition that celebrates Lilly’s love of family, food and music. In her story, Lilly imagines a world where differences are not questioned, but embraced. Lilly’s personal narrative is reflected in Lopez-Parnetti’s intriguing composition through a harmonically rich wall of sound, punctuated rhythms and overlapping patterns. A remarkable photo montage, created by Lilly herself, will be on display at the concert. The montage explores what it feels like when others make assumptions about her mixed identity, and the challenges of not always feeling fully seen or understood. Both Lilly’s family and composer Lopez-Parnetti will attend the premiere performance.
Continuing with the New York theme, the Concord Band will evoke the vibrant and frenetic energy of New York City with Warren Barker’s New York: 1927, together with selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. The Band also will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with composer Clare Grundman’s classic work, Spirit of ’76.
The Concord Band’s Spring Pops concert, conducted by Music Director James O’Dell, will be open seating at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center in Concord, 7:00 PM, Saturday, April 11th. The audience is invited to enjoy complimentary refreshments in the lobby at intermission and after the concert. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for kids 12 and under, and can be reserved at www.ticketstage.com/concordband
