Municipal Band returns with 18-show season starting today

By Jill Callison, for Pigeon605

The Sioux Falls Municipal Band kicks off its season with an indoor concert tonight and a theme that reflects the uncertainty it faced for a time: “The Legacy Continues.”

The 102-year-old band makes its debut at 7:30 p.m. at the Mary W. Sommervold Hall at the Washington Pavilion. The band now is being managed by Washington Pavilion Management Inc. The change came after the band was cut from the city’s budget for this year and later reinstated.

Management under the Washington Pavilion comes after a task force was established to determine the band’s future. The municipal band has not performed since 2019 after the pandemic canceled the 2020 season.

To celebrate the municipal band’s return and more secure future, band director Chris Hill is bringing in soloist Andrea Ross, the protege of famed Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

A native of Boston, Ross has an international reputation and has performed with symphony orchestras such as the Boston Pops, BBC Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra in South Korea, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic for the Live from Lincoln Center concerts of “Company” and “One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch.”

“She originated the lead role of Swallow in the U.S. tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Whistle Down the Wind,’ and she’s a soloist of international renown,” Hill said.

Later in the season, Hill is bringing in Daniel Kitchens, a Texas native who performs regularly with the Omaha Symphony and as an extra horn with the orchestras of Boulder and Fort Collins, Colo.

All band concerts are free. Seating at the performances is first come, first served.

The Sioux Falls Municipal Band will perform twice on the Fourth of July on Sunday. The “American Salute” concert will begin at 11 a.m. at the Independence Day Celebration Picnic at Falls Park. The “American Spirit” concert starts at 8 p.m. at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds grandstand and precedes the fireworks show.

It’s an 18-show season that runs through August.

Performance schedule

• The Legacy Continues, July 2 at 7:30 p.m., Mary W. Sommervold Hall at Washington Pavilion
• American Salute, July 4 at 11 a.m., Independence Day Celebration Picnic at Falls Park
• American Spirit, July 4 at 8 p.m., W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds grandstand
• Paws and Claws, July 6 at 7:30 p.m. The Inn on Westport
• ’40s Gems, July 11 at 3 p.m., McKennan Park bandshell
• Major, Minor & Richter Scales, July 11 at 8 p.m., Terrace Park bandshell
• Twenties Times Two!, July 13 at 7:30 p.m., Sunnycrest Retirement Village
• The Best of the Big Bands, July 18 at 3 p.m., Good Samaritan Society — Sioux Falls Village
• Story Time, July 18 at 8 p.m., Terrace Park bandshell
• Timeless, July 20 at 7:30 p.m., Good Samaritan Society — Sioux Falls Center
• They Gave All, July 25 at 3 p.m., South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance
• Paul Hoy Circus Concert, July 25 at 8 p.m., Terrace Park bandshell
• Statues, July 27 at 7:30 p.m., Paladino Hohm Sculpture Garden at Washington Pavilion
• Super Sinatra, Aug. 1 at 3 p.m., Grand Living at Lake Lorraine
• Sousa Favorites, Aug. 1 at 8 p.m., Terrace Park bandshell
• Taking Flight, Aug. 3 at 7:30 p.m., Dow Rummel Village
• Rogers & Hammerstein, Aug. 8 at 3 p.m., Trail Ridge Senior Living Community
• Grand Finale, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m., Terrace Park bandshell