By Laurie O’Neill – [email protected]
A cacophony of clarinets, oompah-ing tubas, twittering flutes, and sonorous French horns fills the Concord-Carlisle High School music room as dozens of musicians warm up.
When Christoper Noce raises his baton and calls for quiet, there are supportive sounds of “Shhhh!” among the students. Then silence.
Suddenly the soft strains of brass and woodwind instruments rise slowly and expand, with the percussionists adding another layer. They carry listeners on a harmonious journey and then build to a crescendo until a crash of kettle drums marks the close of the segment — and satisfied smiles appear on the musicians’ faces.
A ‘Revolutionary’ world premiere
Noce nods appreciatively. The director of bands and orchestra at CCHS is “thrilled,” he says, about the school’s upcoming “landmark” Concert Band program, “Sound Revolutions,” which will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
The concert, on March 4 at CCHS, is a collaboration with the Lexington High School band program.
“Sound Revolutions” will present the world premieres of two new works for band, one composed for each school. CCHS will premiere “Revolutionary: Music for Concord, 1775,” created by award-winning composer Andy Boysen Jr., a professor of music composition and conducting at the University of New Hampshire.
Among the program’s highlights will be a CCHS performance of the late composer Clare Grundman’s “Concord,” which was commissioned by the United States Marine Band and includes three traditional tunes from colonial New England: “The White Cockade,” “America,” and “Yankee Doodle.”
An ‘exceptional’ music program
The concert, Noce says, is “just one highlight in a season of exceptional achievement” for the CCHS Concert Band. It was selected as a featured ensemble at the National Association for Music Education’s Eastern Division Conference and Festival this spring, placing the band “among the most exceptional music programs in the region,” Noce says.
This honor “underscores the high caliber of the CCHS program and the dedication of its talented student musicians,” Noce says. The band will participate in the April 19 Concord Patriots Day parade.
Noce has been director of the high school’s bands and orchestra program since 2022, having previously guided bands in Concord at the elementary and middle school levels. He was recognized as one of Yamaha’s 40 Under 40 Music Educators in 2024. “Sound Revolutions” will be performed at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 4, at CCHS. Admission is free, but seating is limited, so reservations are encouraged. Visit ticketstage.com/T/CCHS.
This story has been updated
