Mercer Community Band, under the direction of Dr. Hendley D. Hoge, will present a Red, White and Blue concert in honor of America’s 232nd birthday at 7:30 p.m. July 4 on the historic Mercer Courthouse Square.
Guest instrumental soloist Jim Flowers, alto sax virtuoso, will perform “Estillian Caprice” and “As Time Goes By,” the famous song from the classic film “Casablanca.”
Flowers, a graduate of Youngstown State University Dana School of Music, is an instructor at Westminster College, New Wilmington, and Marks Music, Hermitage. He is a freelance musician and has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Guest vocal soloist Nora Drake, a soprano, will sing “Our America,” “America the Beautiful” and “El Capitan Spectacular.”
Drake, a native of Greenville, has performed across the United States and Europe. She graduated in 2001 from Westminster College with a degree in performance. She was awarded the Mina Grundish Endowed Music Scholarship and was chosen by Westminster College’s music faculty to be a member of the pilot program, Special Initiatives for Unusually Talented Music Students. She graduated magna cum laude in 2004 from the University of Texas at Austin with a master of music degree.
She has been the featured soloist with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the Minnesota-based modern music group Renegade Ensemble, and the Mercer County Historical Society Chamber Players.
Drake resides with her husband in Pittsburgh, where she is a soloist and choir member at both Third Presbyterian Church of Shadyside and St. John’s Evangelica Lutheran Church in Perryside.
Warm-up entertainment will be provided by Chuck Thorpe and Ron Knapp at 6:15 p.m.
The Mercer Band Boosters will host an old-fashioned ice cream social and sell fresh popcorn throughout the evening.
Bring a lawn chair and enjoy an evening of free, family-oriented entertainment.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held at Mercer High School auditorium.
For information call 724-699-9124.
