A popular band is playing on the campus of Butler County Community College Friday.
The River City Brass Band will perform a show at the Succop Theater beginning at 8 p.m. The band’s debut at Succop Theater features 20 songs during a two-hour “Brasstacular” concert that includes a 20-minute intermission.
Tickets to the show, which follows River City Brass Band Octet spring concerts in Panama City, Fla., and Boynton Beach, Fla., are $20 for general admission, $18 for those age 65 and older and $10 for students. Tickets can be purchased by calling 724-284-8505 or by visiting bc3.edu/theater.
Formed in 2017 and showcasing section leaders culled from a 28-member Pittsburgh-based River City Brass Band that has appeared at BC3 three times, the octet will play hits such as “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, “Coming to America” by Neil Diamond, “Some Enchanted Evening,” composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein and “The American Patrol,” composed by Glenn Miller.
“If you think of brass as being spectacular, then you have Brasstacular,” said James Gourlay, executive and artistic director of a River City Brass Band created in 1981 and the only year-round professional group of its kind in North America.The Scottish-born Gourlay, 63, also serves as the octet’s conductor and, as a 50-year tuba player, has recorded five solo CDs. He holds a doctorate degree in musical arts from the University of Salford and a master’s degree in musicology from Leeds University, both in England.
Balancing the soprano and b-flat trumpets’ heights at Succop Theater and his tuba’s depth will the flugelhorn – “with its beautiful, warm sound,” Gourlay said. And the French horn – producing “a heroic sound” found in films, particularly those whose scores were composed by John Williams; the euphonium, a tenor instrument with a “rich” tone one octave lower than the flugelhorn; and the trombone, with a “brittle sound that can also sound very lyrical and delicious.”
“They mix this all together to come up with the most pleasing and exciting sounds,” said Larry Stock, director of BC3’s Cultural Center. “There are just so many wonderful ways they can entertain the audience. It’ll be just a wonderful, magical evening.”
