© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The KPAC Blog features classical music news, reviews, and analysis from South Texas and around the world.

Heart Of Texas Concert Band Mixes Winds And Voices For Holiday Concert

Mark Rogers leads band and choruses this Sunday

When the Heart of Texas Concert Band (HOTCB) performs this weekend, they will add an element for the very first time in the ensemble's history: a choir. Band and choir works are more rare than orchestral accompaniment, but Mark Rogers has done some searching and arranging.

Credit Heart of Texas Concert Band
Conductor Mark rogers

"Nancy Oehlert approached me about collaborating with the Encore Youth Chorus, and I thought it was a natural fit, and immediately thought of the holidays," says conductor Mark Rogers. 

"I heard about her (Nancy), and she heard about us, and she came to one of our concerts and she said 'I'd love to do something with the Heart of Texas Concert Band.' So then my brain started churning, trying to think what we could do with them... 'Let It Snow,' 'Winter Wonder Land,' and 'Sleigh Ride!'"

HOTCB will play Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Northern Hill United Methodist Church.

"It's an ideal space, no high stage or anything. The audience will be very close to the band, and I think that is important for the band to sense the audience, and I really enjoy it, having that pulse of how the audience reacts!"

The band also performs Saturday morning around 10:30am for Wreaths Across America at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

John Clare is comfortable behind a microphone, streaming video or playing violin. A former broadcaster for NPR, John has previously worked with Voice of America, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation and stations in Kansas, Nevada, California, and Pennsylvania.