AHS junior’s composition, ‘Portly Mr. Pottle’

on the program

ARLINGTON — Dance music is the theme of the North Cascades Concert Band’s fall concert this year, to be presented at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 3 at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center at Arlington High School and in Bellingham and Anacortes.

Under the direction of Lylburn Layer, “The Magic of the Dance” recognizes many styles of dance and the music that inspires them.

The program includes music of symphonies, operas, stage plays and jazz bands from Russia, 18th and 19th century America, gypsy dances, Slavonic folk dances, American ballet, swing music and well-known dances from the musical, “Westside Story.”

In the 20th century western civilizations, “concert” dance became synonymous with ballet, but dance has existed as recreation or as a religious/spiritual manifestation in every age and among every race or ethnic group, and this concert celebrates that fact. Along with ballet, modern influences include foxtrot, quickstep, rumba, samba, and mambo, swing as well as rock-n-roll.

A special feature of the program is a composition, “Portly Mr. Pottle,” by Arlington High School junior Eric McElroy, who has already won awards for his compositions.

After 13 years of performing around the northwest corner of the state, North Cascades Concert Band features a unique blend of members of all ages and professions who live from Bellingham to Seattle. A registered non-profit 501-3C organization, contributions are welcome and tax deductible.

For information call the band president, Lee Walkup in Bellingham at 360-676-9905.

Due to the late date of the “fall” concerts, the band will also be adding some seasonal selections.

Along with the Arlington performance at the BPAC, the concert will also be presented in Bellingham, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 3 and at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7 in Brodniak Hall, Anacortes.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students at the door of each venue.

The program includes:

• “Suite of Old American Dances” arranged by Robert Russell Bennett.

• “Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor” by Alexander Borodin.

• “Buckaroo Holiday” from “Rodeo” by Aaron Copland.

• Selections from “Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky.

• “The Slavonic Dances” a symphonic suite by Anton Dvorak transcribed by Jim Curnow.

• Four Dances from “West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein arranged for Symphonic Band by Ian Polster.

• “The Portly Mr. Pottle” by Eric McElroy.

• “Russian Christmas Music” by Alfred Reed.

• “Puszta” by Jan Vender Roost.

Everett Choral accompanied by well-known flute player

Featuring 80-plus singers from around Snohomish County, the Everett Chorale brings music from across the globe to Everett, including pieces from the West Indies, Puerto Rico, France, Italy and England to the Everett Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 6 and 3 p.m., Dec. 7 with additional performances at the Festival of Trees in the Comcast Arena Dec. 3, with two more performances, on an Argosy Christmas Ship from Edmonds to Richmond Beach Dec. 8 and in St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Dec. 20.

The concert, “Children Go Where I Send Thee: A Christmas Celebration Around the World,” includes a compilation of Christmas-themed spirituals.

Some pieces are familiar, such as “Away in a Manger” and “Go Tell It On The Mountain.” Others will offer the audience a new twist to beloved carols, such as “One Horse Open Sleigh,” which is the original version of today’s popular Jingle Bells.

All pieces performed for this holiday concert were arranged by Robert DeCormier, an American conductor, arranger, and director, and a graduate of the Juilliard School.

The chorale will be accompanied by flautist Jeffrey Cohan, who has received international acclaim both as a modern flutist and as one of the foremost specialists on transverse flutes from the renaissance through the early 19th century.

Membership in the Everett Chorale is open to all singers with previous choral singing experience and is available for college credit through Everett Community College. Contact EvCC at 425-388-9501 for enrollment and audition information.

Tickets are $16 for adults and $14 for seniors, students and military, with special discounts for groups at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave. in downtown Everett from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, or call 425-257-8600.