Christmas Is Coming

This evening we attended the McAllen Symphonic Band Christmas Concert. Hardy and Judy picked up tickets for us, and we rode with them to the McAllen Civic Center. All the musicians are volunteers--a fact that is highlighted in the program, which lists the regular occupations of the band members (music teachers, band leaders, retired folks, nurses, etc.--and one engineer).

The program was varied. We especially enjoyed the Leroy Anderson piece, Sleigh Ride. Several of the pieces were medleys, including an Irving Berlin piece including Happy Holidays and White Christmas. The concert ended with a Christmas singalong.

David Isadore, the conductor, has an impressive resume as an educator, conductor, and musician.

The final piece, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, brought out the Christmas whimsy in some of the players.


This was our first experience of a symphonic band, and we wondered what constitutes a symphonic band. The Harvard Dictionary of Music lists the standard instrumentation and suggests that the large number of instruments distinguishes the symphonic band from the concert band. The instruments included brass, woodwinds, percussion, and a harp.

After the concert, we went to the Dairy Queen in Mission. Judy, Ken and I had the DQ Fudge Bar (sugar free and only 50 calories), but Hardy preferred the ice cream and had a vanilla cone. Judy is on the Weight Watchers diet, and the fudge bar is only one point.

Today is our two-dance day--Joe Saltel in the morning and Randy Dougherty in the afternoon. Both of us had more difficulty than usual at Randy's dance.