Award-winning tunes part of summer series

The Lake Charles Community Band kicks off its Catch a Concert summer series next week, with free performances scheduled for 7 p.m. every Monday in June at the Civic Center second floor mezzanine.

Band Director Fred Roeder said the June 5 concert will feature a set of songs that have won Oscar and Tony awards over the past 70 years. They include “The King and I,” “The Sound of Music” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

The show will feature soloist Jarius Barker singing “I Got Plenty O’Nuttin’” from the opera “Porgy and Bess.” Barker is a graduate of Washington Marion High School.

People and Places is the theme for the June 12 concert. The show will feature songs from “The Addams Family,” the musicals “Jersey Boys” and “Oliver,” and a titanic tribute to Elvis.

Leo Murray keeps the beat while playing the drums with the Lake Charles Community Band Monday evening at the Civic Center.

The June 19 concert will highlight Good vs. Evil, with songs featured in several movies, including “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Frozen,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “March from 1941” from the film “1941.”

The Lake Charles Masterworks Chorale will join the band for the June 26 concert. The theme will center around patriotism, with songs like “America the Beautiful,” “Who are the Brave,” “American Salute” and “Armed Forces Salute.”

Roeder, who is in his first year as band director, said the themes for each show will appeal to many listeners.

“There’s something for everybody,” he said. “When I came on the idea was every time we perform, we are going to present good material and something they can enjoy.”

While the band has already played some songs in earlier concerts, Roeder said many of them are new. He said the band essentially had two rehearsals for each concert.

“The learning curve is pretty high on the new songs,” Roeder said. “It’s a little bit of a whirlwind to get it done in the rehearsal time. But we’ve got good players.”

 Online: www.facebook.com/lakecharlescommunityband

The Catch a Concert summer series is popular with area residents. (Rick Hickman/American Press Archives)