On July 8, the Tacoma Concert Band performed its “Bon Voyage” concert at Pierce College’s Puyallup campus.The band will be leaving for its third European tour where they will compete with bands from throughout Europe in the International Wind Band Contest in Valencia, Spain.

The firstconcert the group has had at Puyallup in recent years, the band performed songs that would appear in their European tour.The award-winning band was founded by director and conductor Robert Musser in 1981, and only has four major performances a year, specializing in upbeat, popular classic music.

According to Musser, the festival in Spain has a selection of pieces the band will be required to play, as well as a few pieces chosen by the band. One of the selected pieces was “Northwest Passage,” a piece commissioned for the band’s 35th anniversary and composed by Aldo Rafael Forte, and American composer.

Another required piece, “Andromeda” was composed specifically for the competition, and was the most technically impressive piece in the concert. Described by Musser as using many musical “special effects”, the piece was inspired by the Greek myth of Andromeda, and had the crowd roaring with applause afterwards. Also required was a Spanish piece known as a paso doble, inspired by and named after famous Spanish dancer/singer, Lola Flores.

The concert also featured many skilled soloists, most notably Jason Gilliam, who playeda part on the euphonium originally meant for the violin.“It’s incredibly challenging.” Gilliam said, “You have to take the speed and velocity ofthe instrument beyond its stereotypical range.” About the band’s chances in the festival, hecouldn’t say for sure, but did note: “It’s like a vacation. We get to have a great time in Spain butalso play great music. We’re ready to do our best.”Band member and tuba player Andrew talked briefly about his experience, “It’s a lot of fun music to play.”Audience member Cathy and her mother Dolores have been following the band foralmost a year, and know several members, including soloist Marris Northcut. They expressedtheir enjoyment of the concert and excitement for the band’s future in Spain. “We’re just soimpressed by their talent.” The band also featured a guest soloist, Christopher Sereque, a recently retired member of the Seattle Symphony who exhibited skillful clarinet playing. Another soloist, Bill Dyre, tag-teamed with Marris Northcut on the trumpet and trombone, respectively.

The band concluded with a round of distinctly American songs, including famousBroadway scores such as “That’s Entertainment” and a medley of Gershwin songs. Thehighlight was a recital of famous film composer John Williams’s “Superman Suite”. Finally, they concluded with Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes”, with a surprise encore of “Washington Post”,with the audience clapping along merrily to both and standing applause at the end. Whether or not they win the International Wind Band Contest, the Tacoma Concert Band’s performances in Spain are sure to wow audiences just as much as they wowed the audience in Puyallup.