The Marches In Place Project

What It Is

The Marches In Place Project was a virtual ensemble made up of members of the Adrian City Band and musicians from the greater music community. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, virtual bands and ensembles had become a new trend bringing musicians together from wherever they are isolated to create quality music together while they are in Place in isolation.

We chose to record some of our beloved Marches and other crowd favorites as we continued to social distance. The Adrian City Band is embarked on this new initiative until it was safe for us to gather together once again and share our music and our hearts in a live performance. Altogether of the course of a year we produced over 50 virtual ensemble performances with 148 participating musicians in 58 cities, 15 states, and 4 countries.

How It Works

Each Musician or a small group of musicians recorded audio and video of themselves playing their specific part of the music. A click track or metronome is used to keep all the musicians playing at the same tempo.

Each of those videos or audio clips were then compiled and edited together to create one video of the whole band playing together. Our Marches In Place Project has ended but you can view all of our videos below or on our Youtube page.

Previous Videos

Stars & Stripes Forever

Today we salute all of our military veterans with one final virtual band video! We are so thankful for the sacrifices they have made and for the freedoms they have served, fought, and died to protect. Enjoy Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever. Happy Memorial Day!

No One Is Alone

Today we are excited to share our 50th video in our Marches In Place Project! Please be sure to watch through the credits as we pay tribute to ALL of the many musicians who have participated in our virtual community band over the past year.

No One is Alone is from the popular musical Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Levine. As the fairytale characters are lying in wait to attack a Giant who has been ravaging the kingdom, Two characters sing this song to two now orphaned characters who are distraught trying to comprehend their loss and how to move forward. The lyrics conclude:

“Just remember: Someone is on your side. Someone else is not. While we're seeing our side, Maybe we forgot; They are not alone, No one is alone. Someone is on your side, No one is alone.”

As we conclude our Marches In Place Project and plan a return to live music, we have all come to realize that even in our isolation, especially during the trials of the COVID-19 pandemic, music and musicians will find a way to continue to unite and uplift us all. 148 participating musicians in 58 cities, 15 states, and 4 countries have shown us all that No One Is Alone.

Singin' In The Rain

With a spring rain shower always a possibility, this week we are delighted to present Singin’ In The Rain. This title song from the 1952 movie musical brings back the iconic solo dance sequence in which Gene Kelly celebrates his character’s new romance with leading lady Debbie Reynolds with joyful abandon in Rain-soaked romp through an empty street in an early morning thunderstorm. The number ends abruptly when he is brought back to reality after bumping into a policeman making his nightly rounds. Hoping to suspend any suspicions of disorderly behavior he kindly shares his unused umbrella with the officer as he exits the scene. We hope you enjoy this week’s selection and find a reason to dance in the rain with Joyful abandon!

Brighton Beach

This week we bring you a concert march by Louisiana native, William Latham During World War II, Latham served his country first as a cavalry bandsman Stationed in the area of Brighton Beach on the Southern coast of England and later as an army infantry officer in Germany, where he was wounded in action. While the composition is named for this place, it is not programmatic and does not depict any aspect of his experience there. Brighton Beach was written in 1954 and was the composer’s first composition for wind band but he went on to right over 100 works. We hope you enjoy this classic of the wind band repertoire. Enjoy!

Serenade for Wind Band

Greetings friends, this week we bring you a lighthearted jaunt in the way of this Serenade written by Derek Bourgeois. Originally written in 1965 for organ and titled Wedding March, the composer wrote the tune for his own wedding, to be played as guests left the ceremony. Not wishing to allow them the luxury of proceeding in an orderly 2/4 time, the composer wrote the work in a much more difficult and lopsided 11/8 time signature, and in case anyone felt too comfortable, he changed it in the middle to 13/8! The composer later transcribed the piece for wind band, and it has been a staple in the band repertoire since. It is a perfect example of musicians making the very best of ‘difficult times’ despite the circumstances. Enjoy!

On A Hymnsong of Philip Bliss

Today we have a beautiful setting of a Hymn originally written with music by Philip Bliss and lyrics by Horatio Spafford. This hymn of hope, courage, and peace was written in 1873 after several traumatic events in Spafford's life.

The Best of Chicago

This week we are excited to bring you a medley of tunes from one of the most prolific horn bands of our time: Chicago. This medley arranged by Paul Murtha revisits some of the band’s greatest hits with Make Me Smile, Saturday in The Park, & 25 or 6 to 4. So Turn up the volume, sing along, and Enjoy!

Florentiner March

The march Florentiner was written by Julius Fučík in 1907, his opus 214, while in Budapest, the political and cultural capital of Hungary. There, he had access to many regimental bands and talented musicians anxious to perform his music. Widely recognized for his march music, he became interested in orchestral works. This was a time when central European composers were writing in the style of foreign lands including the Orient, Spain, and Italy. This composition bears the subtitle Grande marcia Italiana with the main title giving homage to Florence, Italy. It has the length and content of a condensed operetta. One can imagine the theater curtains opening to two trumpet fanfares followed by a stately march as the residents of that grand city rush to welcome the large entourage of a nobleman. Flowers are thrown to the procession and everyone is excited. Suddenly, our nobleman sees a beautiful courtesan and the two converse in a gentle interlude that becomes quieter as the conversation gets more personal. Chirps from the woodwinds denote the start of gossip by the village women in response. The brass give a loud proclamation that the couple are to be wed and a celebratory theme concludes the happy scene as the curtains close.

April

This week we celebrate spring and the rebirth and renewal of the earth that comes with it. Aaron Perrine's beautiful piece for band is a flowing work of gentle harmony and musical imagery. The atmosphere is almost dreamlike as it captures the efflorescence of spring. Enjoy!

Oblivion

Today we celebrate Argentine Tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger Astor Piazzolla’s 100th Birthday with one of his famous tango’s Oblivion. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed Nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. A virtuoso bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles. This arrangement features a trumpet solo played today by Darrell K. Beasley from our own Adrian, Michigan.

The Huntress March

This week we welcome march back with a real toe tapper from one of the most prolific march composers, Karl L. King. The Huntress has all of the great melodies, countermelodies, and bold brassiness that made Karl King so popular. Unique to this march is the ragtime woodwind obligato for the flutes and clarinets in the trio. We hope this selection will have you Marching Fourth today!

Military Escort

The introduction of Military Escort (called "the best easy march ever composed") came from a march by Will Nicholson of Vallonia, Indiana. Henry Fillmore bought the work for $35, revised the melody and harmony, added an additional 96 bars of his own material, and copyrighted the march in 1923 for both band and orchestra, using his Harold Bennett pseudonym.