Arts & Entertainment

Milpitas Community Concert Band Takes on the Civil War

The concert theme is the 150th anniversary of the start of the U.S. Civil War, which includes 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' and 'Amazing Grace.'

Veering from last season's theme of "," the Milpitas Community Concert Band chose a historic theme for Friday night's performance. "The Blue and the Gray" was comprised of selections from the Civil War period, coupled with modern arrangements and even the score from a movie, Gettysberg.  

Director Jeff Yaeger arranged a piece of music composed for brass band in 1859 called "Indiana Polka," which can be found in little march books at the Library of Congress, he said.

The evening was dedicated in memory of Lenora Cecelia Santos Carr, mother of B.J. Navarro, longtime trumpet player in the band. 

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"Usually she comes to the concerts and sits in the front row," Navarro told the audience at the Milpitas Community Center. "And so this concert is in her memory." The song, "Aura Lee," featured in a medley in "The Blue and the Grey," was one of Carr's favorites that the band played on Friday night. 

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