“Chester Leaps In”…and Stands Out

The Charlottesville Municipal band rung in their 93rd season on Sunday Oct. 18 at their seventh annual fall concert. The concert was held in the theater of the V. Earl Dickinson building at PVCC.

The theater almost reached its maximum capacity as it was flooded with people from the Charlottesville community coming in by the busload. Attendees were eager to watch the 80- plus volunteer members of the band perform for this event.

Stephen R. Layman, conductor of the Charlottesville Municipal band, and guest conductor William Posey, JMU School of Music staff member, led the band through 11 different compositions. One composition, conducted by Layman, stood out from the rest: “Chester Leaps In” by composer Steven Bryant.

Layman introduced the piece by telling the audience it was a rendition of the revolutionary war anthem “Chester,” by William Billings. A short excerpt from the anthem was then played

over the speakers in the Dickinson theater so audience members could hear the original. After it was played, Layman stated, “I can bet you have never heard Chester like this.”

The audience then heard trumpets howling out of tune and string instruments violently whaling sharp notes throughout the piece. Confusion seemed to be painted on every face until normalcy returned with “Opening Night On Broadway” by Michael Brown.

According to Bryant’s website, “’Chester Leaps In’ is intended as a humorous, cartoonish piece, constructed from the juxtaposition of two divergent musical ideas: a chromatic, angular melodic motive, repeatedly interrupted by the harmonic simplicity of William Billings’ well- known hymn tune, ‘Chester.’”

Layman said he chose the piece “To shake them [The Charlottesville Municipal Band] up a bit, to wake them up mentally.” He later went on to explain that the piece was far different than what the band usually plays, and it was to get them out of their comfort zone into something new.