“Song
for the Unsung Hero,” a piece written after 9/11, will have
trumpet accompaniment and, Kozacek explained, “serve to honor
the heroes in any uniform who are preserving our freedom.”
“We’ll
also be doing a tribute to the fallen of World War I,” Kozacek
said, “a choral setting of the song ‘In Flanders Fields.’”
The little known funereal song, is actually a poem by a Canadian
serviceman, Col. John McCrea, written during World War I after
the second battle of Ypres in Belgium. It was originally set
to music by John Phillip Sousa, but McCrea never had a chance
to hear it because he died in battle in 1918 before orchestration
was finished.
Kenda
Newbury, artistic director of AZDance Group of Anthem, will
have her performers out in full force–professionals, junior
trainees, children’s Christmas dancers and Movement E‑Motion
members–to follow ProMusica with 30 minutes of the creative,
high‑quality, multi‑disciplined dance moves on
which AZDance Group has built its reputation.
“They
asked us for a variety performance,” said Newbury, “and I
said, yeah, we can do that.”
AZDance
Group’s lineup for the show will include tunes from the 1940s,
jazz and tap dancing, Christmas numbers, and a “hand dance”
from the show “Will Rogers’ Follies” called “Our Favorite
Son.”
“It’s
a lot of fun,” Newbury said. “It’s all about the hands.”
According
to Newbury, more than 30 AZDance Group members will perform
for the Veteran’s Day Picnic, including 17 members of Movement
E‑Motion, AZDance Group’s program for individuals with
disabilities. (Newbury prefers the term “different abilities.”)
The
Movement E‑Motion program provides people with Down
Syndrome, autism, and the physically challenged with an introduction
to artistic physical activity, movement and dance, and is
made possible through a grant from the Molly Lawson Foundation,
with help from the Arizona Community Foundation.
Arizona
Broadway Theatre of Peoria will be third up with its “Bits
& Pieces” touring troupe, an offshoot of the sit‑down
dinner theater company composed of local professionals that
play small venues, private functions, parties, etc. Currently,
the theater is running the first show of its second season,
“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” until Nov.
12, and will open its next big musical, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s
“South Pacific”on Nov. 17.
Bits
& Pieces, made up of five singers and a piano player,
will bring the Veteran’s Day Family Picnic entertainment to
a close with a half‑hour of rousing patriotic tunes
from the songbooks of George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, and
other American favorites.
All
in all, sounds like a nice way to kick back, have some lunch,
enjoy some music and honor the brave men and women who have
fought to preserve our freedom.
Reach
the reporter at cmoore@thedesertadvocate.com.
