Sequim City Band offers free ‘Harmonic Gatherings’ concert Sunday, Aug. 16

Published 4:30 am Wednesday, August 12, 2026

The Sequim City Band will present “Harmonic Gatherings,” a free afternoon concert featuring its chamber ensembles, on Sunday, Aug. 16, at the James Center for the Performing Arts.

Beginning at 3 p.m., the program highlights four of the band’s smaller ensembles in a performance celebrating the musical versatility and camaraderie of Sequim City Band musicians.

The concert takes place at Carrie Blake Community Park, 202 N. Blake Ave. Admission is free, with free on-site parking available. Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for lawn seating.

Unlike the band’s traditional summer concerts featuring the full ensemble, this special performance highlights four chamber groups whose selections will be interspersed throughout the afternoon. The alternating format gives audiences an opportunity to experience the distinctive sounds of brass, clarinets, saxophones and trumpets in a program ranging from classical and jazz influences to movie music, western favorites and American marches.

The Olympic Brass Quintet will perform “Amparito Roca,” Jaime Texidor’s celebrated Spanish march, known for its bright melodies, spirited rhythms and colorful Mediterranean flair. Later in the program, the ensemble returns with “Sousa on Parade,” King Palmer’s entertaining arrangement of familiar marches by John Philip Sousa.

Olympic Winds, the band’s clarinet choir, will spotlight the music of Sequim composer Signe Crawford with selections from her original works. “Buckaroo” is an entertaining western medley featuring “Big Iron,” “The Streets of Laredo,” “Bonanza,” and “Rawhide.” Audiences may enjoy imagining trail-weary cowboys settling around the campfire — not with guitars and harmonicas, but with clarinets. The ensemble also performs “Fire,” the opening movement from Crawford’s suite “Faia,” a dramatic work inspired by the Earth’s fiery beginnings that combines vivid musical imagery with the composer’s imaginative storytelling.

The Saxologists, the band’s saxophone quartet, will perform one of America’s most beloved standards, “Fly Me to the Moon.” Made famous by Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie Orchestra, the song also became part of space history through its association with NASA’s Apollo missions. The quartet also presents Hiroki Takahashi’s “Amusement Park Suite for Saxophone Quartet,” a five-movement musical adventure capturing the excitement of entering the park, strolling Main Street, exploring a haunted house, riding the merry-go-round and finishing with the thrills of a roller coaster.

The SCB Trumpet Trio adds two audience favorites to the program, both arranged by former teachers of one of the trio’s trumpeters. The ensemble will perform Beethoven’s Trio, Op. 87 – IV. Finale, arranged for trumpets by former Los Angeles Philharmonic musician Rob Roy McGregor, followed by a Harry Potter medley based on John Williams’ iconic film score. The medley was arranged by former Los Angeles Philharmonic trumpeter Boyde Hood, who originally wrote it for three retired trumpet players who gathered each Friday simply for the joy of making music together — a tradition the Sequim trio proudly continues today.

With its mix of familiar favorites, imaginative arrangements and outstanding local musicianship, “Harmonic Gatherings” offers audiences an opportunity to experience Sequim City Band musicians in a more intimate setting and enjoy an afternoon of live music for all ages.