For three years now, ever since I moved to the Lansing, Michigan, area and found out about the Red Cedar Festival of Community Bands, I’ve wanted to attend. The first year, when I mentioned it to my husband, he described it as “garbage”, thereby discouraging me from attending… somewhat. Last year, I again thought of going, but hesitated. Then, this year, I decided that just because he thinks it’s garbage, doesn’t mean that it is. And, since the festival is during the day, I don’t need him to drive me to it.* I put it on my to-do list for Saturday and went. I’m glad that I did. Garbage… not at all. There were 11 bands that played in the festival this year. The format is half-hour concerts by each band, with a 10-minute intermission in between concerts. I sat through three concerts, one each performed by the Meridian Community Band, the Grand Ledge Community Band, and the Downriver Community Band. Being in Meridian Township, it’s the Meridian Community Band that hosts this festival every year, now in its 18th year.
This festival is for anyone who likes to experience a variety of music. Where else can you hear moving pieces of music, a polka, a medley from the movie “The Great Race”, Greek folk music, and much more for free? (Well, donations are always welcome!) Not to mention, the quality of music is quite good. At one point when the Downriver Community Band performed “Promise of Living from Tender Land” by Aaron Copeland, if I didn’t know better, I could swear I was sitting in Orchestra Hall listening to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
For me, the best piece of the afternoon, was “Joy in All Things” by Brian Balmages, performed by the Meridian Community Band. I was literally tearing up during the flute solo. No exaggeration! Here’s a video of the piece performed by the California All-State Concert Band. Not as good as a live performance, but hopefully it will give you a taste of what I experienced at the Red Cedar Festival this year. Enjoy!
*For those of my readers who don’t know me personally, I stopped driving at night, unless the trip is short and/or necessary, due to sight issues. Recently, my ophthamologist gave me eye drops to, hopefully, help the problem. I have yet to test them out.
UPDATE: I tested the eye drops. Totally useless. They wore off after only a half hour and they didn’t make a measurable difference in the glare from the headlights. They did give me a headache though.
Reading this blog post today is perfect timing for me. I am headed out to hear great music this afternoon, attending one of the DSO’s neighborhood concert series. Today’s concert, a little Schubert, a little Mozart, a little Hydn… talk about feeling indulgent!
I’m glad you enjoyed your concerts so much. That sort of event is so nice, seeing how many people are engaged in such a wonderful communal effort to create beauty. And I totally understand how music can move you to tears. I’ve had this happens too, just overwhelmed by the beauty.
Thanks for sharing and for tracking down a video of the piece that moved you so.
Oh, and by the way, I had no idea that your eyes were preventing you from driving at night. Seeing the days lengthen must be nice, no? Hope the new drops are helping!
I’ve had this problem for years, but all my previous eye docs would tell me was “wash the windshield”. Which was no help, since there was nothing wrong with the windshield. The ophthamologist in Lansing that I went to took one look at me and told me the problem was that my pupils were larger than normal and even showed me the comparison on a chart. He was so surprised that none of my other docs hadn’t noticed that right away. Basically, my eyes let in too much light and that’s why I get blinded by the headlights when driving. I haven’t tried the eyedrops yet. I want to try them first when Dan is driving, just in case there are some side-effects from the drops. It’ll be interesting too, if they work, to see how long they last. They won’t be too practical for my drive back from a concert or something if they wear off within an hour or so since I have to put the drops in a half hour before I drive. Too bad there isn’t some sort of glasses that I could wear that would help with the glare. Hopefully I’ll get around to testing the drops soon. And, yes, I do like to see the days lengthen. It’ll be so nice not to have to bug Dan this weekend (or cancel my plans) since I will need to be driving in the early evening on Saturday.