Woodinville Community Band Concert Celebrates the Lord of the Rings

The will play "Swords and Sorcery" featuring Johan de Meij's Symphony No 1, Lord of the Rings at the Redmond High School Performing Arts Center Sunday, March 25 at 2 p.m.

Meij’s "Swords and Sorcery" symphony predates the movies by a couple of decades, according to band director, Leah MacDuffie. “The band has grown in depth the past several years and I was mentioning pieces that I thought were great in a conversation. Lord of the Rings was a piece that I loved since playing at college. As an outcome of the conversation, the piece ended up being donated to the band and after a couple of reading sessions I decided that it was playable for our group.”

The Lord of the Rings symphony was written between 1984 and 1987 by Johan de Meij, MacDuffie added. It was first performed in 1989 and won first prize in the Sudler International Wind Band Composition Competition in Chicago. The Symphony is based on The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. 

Within the symphony there are five movements, each depicting characters or important episodes from the book, MacDuffie said. Movement I is Gandalf (The Wizard), “There is a noble theme to this movement while having an unpredictable character just as Gandalf did. The movement even takes the listener on a ride on Shadowfax, Gandalf's friend and king of the horses,” MacDuffie said.
 
The second movement is Lothlorien, the third is Gollum and the fourth is the Journey in the Dark, “This movement tells the story of the Fellowship passing through the Mines of Moria. It's dark and dangerous, said MacDuffie. “We hear Gandalf as he falls with the beast; the remaining Companions trudge on, mourning the loss of the friend and leader.”

This finalmovement, Hobbits, is uplifting and happy. “We hear the return of Gandalf as well as echoes of Lothlorien. The symphony ends as does the book, with peaceful resignation as the ring bearers’ sail away to "The Grey Havens," MacDuffie said.
 
It piece is a challenging one to play, but the band up to it. “Players have spent countless hours listening to recordings of the piece, practicing individually and in sectionals as well as in weekly rehearsals,” MacDuffie said. “Doing a concert like this is quite an undertaking. The group has really stepped up to harder rehearsals, keeping the end goal of a great performance in mind. It's been wonderful to be able to dive into such rich scoring and hear the group improve as they start to really bring their musicianship skills to the page.”

The symphony will be the bulk of the concert, along with a similar themed opening piece, The Witch and the Saint, by Reineke. The concert is free with a suggested donation of $5. The Woodinville Community Band is one of the top tier symphonic bands in the Seattle area, and consistently brings to the concert hall challenging and enjoyable music of many different genres.

“The band is composed of talented community members who have the time and dedication necessary to rehearse and perform at a semi-pro level. It is a favorite among musicians and teachers in the Seattle area, as well as members of the community,” said band member Greg Cagle.