BRASS BAND of BATTLE CREEK

• Leroy Anderson: A Christmas Festival

The 31-member Brass Band of Battle Creek has been described as an All-Star band of
the brass-and-percussion world’s elite, attracting great musicians from around the United
States and Europe. The BBBC presents two annual concerts in Battle Creek, Michigan, as
well as a limited number of other engagements in hand-picked locations across the United
States and abroad. Though rooted in the British brass band tradition (characterized by
large ensembles of strictly brass and percussion with no reed instruments or strings) the
BBBC also weaves in wholly American elements, such as jazz improvisation, pops and
swing, resulting in a hybrid style that makes the BBBC truly unique among brass bands.

Founded in 1989 by brothers Jim and Bill Gray, podiatrists and amateur brass players
from Battle Creek, the Brass Band of Battle Creek has grown to cult status in that city,
where BBBC concerts are regularly sold out and waiting lists are created weeks in advance.
Trumpet legend Doc Severinsen, who has twice appeared with the band, said of the BBBC,
“This band represents the beginnings of a new music movement in America. It’s one of the
most accomplished groups I’ve ever worked with in my entire career.”
A CHRISTMAS OVERTURE
Variations on Deck The Halls (Jeff Tyzik)

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER
(Johnny Marks; arr. Chris Sharp)

FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN
from Messiah (G.F. Handel; arr. Scott Hartman)

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
(Rollins/Nelson; arr. Sandy Smith)

UKRAINIAN BELL CAROL (Carol of the Bells)
(Mykola Leontovich; arr. Philip Sparke)

MOTOWN JINGLE BELLS
(James Pierpont; arr. Sam Pilafian)

MARCH OF THE TOYS
from Babes in Toyland (Victor Herbert; arr. Ronald Hanmer)

O HOLY NIGHT
(Adolphe Adam; arr. Keith Wilkinson)

ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY
(Henry Smart; arr. David Wolpe & Chris Smart)

A CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL
(Leroy Anderson; arr. James Wood)





MSR Classics