ABOUT THIS CONCERT

Saturday, March 14, 2026 | 4:00PM
Myers Park High School
2400 Colony Road
​Charlotte, NC 28209

​OVERVIEW
Join the Charlotte Concert Band for Tribute: A 60th Anniversary Celebration, a landmark concert honoring six decades of musical excellence. This festive performance reflects on the band’s rich history while looking ahead with excitement, featuring a dynamic program of beloved classics and bold new works. The highlight of the evening is the world premiere of a commissioned piece by acclaimed composer Julie Giroux—written especially for the Charlotte Concert Band in celebration of this milestone. Come be part of this unforgettable musical tribute.

Program
GRAINGER: Handel in the Strand
HOLST: First Suite in E-flat for Military Band
CROSS: Tribute
CURNOW: Concertpiece
SOUSA: The Dauntless Battalion
MERCURY/SPARKE: Bohemian Rhapsody
GERSHWIN/BARNES: Porgy and Bess
GIROUX: High Country (world premier of commissioned work for the Charlotte Concert Band)

Ticket Pricing
  • AT THE DOOR: $15.00
  • IN ADVANCE ONLINE 
    • ​General Admission: $14.00
    • Seniors (ages 65+): $12.00
    • Students (18 years of age and younger): $5.00
    • Ages 5 and younger admitted free​​​

60TH ANNIVERSARY SILENT AUCTION

As part of our 60th Anniversary Celebration, the CCB is hosting a special silent auction to support our nonprofit mission. For six decades, our ensemble has brought musicians of all backgrounds together and shared live music with audiences across the Charlotte community. Your participation in the auction directly helps sustain that work—supporting performances, educational outreach, and the musicians who make it all possible.

The silent auction is now open online, with all bidding taking place through our secure platform. You’ll find a variety of packages and experiences generously donated by community partners and friends of the band.

The auction ends at 5:00 pm on Saturday, March 14. 
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Explore the full list of items and place your bids at the link below:

HONORING 60 YEARS WITH A COMMISSION FROM JULIE GIROUX

Julie Giroux is an Emmy Award–winning composer whose work spans film, television, video games, and the concert stage. A Louisiana State University graduate, she began her career in Los Angeles working with Academy Award–winning composer Bill Conti, contributing to projects such as North and South, Dynasty, The Colbys, Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, and numerous feature films. Her arranging and orchestration work has involved collaborations with leading composers, producers, and artists across the entertainment industry.

Giroux is a prolific composer for wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber groups, and choirs, with more than 200 published works performed worldwide. She has been recognized with multiple Emmy nominations and three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction. Her honors include induction into the American Bandmasters Association—the first woman composer to receive that distinction—the Midwest Clinic Medal of Honor, and recognition by J.W. Pepper as one of 19 Groundbreaking Women Composers.

In 2021, her Integrity Fanfare and March was performed by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band for the Presidential Inauguration, marking the first time a woman composer was featured in that ceremony. Her Medalist Fanfare was programmed again for the 2025 inauguration.
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For the Charlotte Concert Band’s 60th anniversary, Giroux was commissioned to compose High Country, a new work created especially for this milestone season.

FORMER DIRECTORS RETURN TO THE PODIUM

​As we celebrate six decades of music-making, we are privileged to be joined by several of the Charlotte Concert Band’s former Music Directors. Their leadership has left a lasting imprint on our ensemble, and it is a joy to have them return to the podium for this anniversary performance.
​DON MORRIS
Charlotte Concert Band Director, 1999 - 2012
Don Morris’s lifelong love of music began after seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. He joined band in the 6th grade on a borrowed cornet, later switched to baritone, and earned a spot in the Tennessee All‑State Band in 1974. He went on to receive his music education degree from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. from Florida State University.

Dr. Morris has taught band at the middle school, high school, and university levels, and has conducted community bands throughout his adult life. After moving to Charlotte in 1997, he was named director of the Central Piedmont Community Band in 1999—the ensemble that would eventually become the Charlotte Concert Band. Under his leadership, the CCB was invited to perform at the NCMEA Convention in 2009. He conducted his final CCB concert in April 2012, then returned to community music‑making in 2016 as conductor of the Matthews Concert Band.
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Dr. Morris retired in 2023 after 45 years of teaching, but he continues to lead the Matthews Concert Band and enjoys playing jazz clarinet in his spare time.
BILL LAWING
Charlotte Concert Band Director, 1990 - 1993
Bill Lawing enjoyed a 46‑year career at Davidson College, where he directed both the jazz ensemble and the wind ensemble while also teaching a wide range of academic courses. He has remained an active trumpeter throughout his career, performing for more than two decades with the Charlotte Symphony and later with the Charlotte Philharmonic and the Western Piedmont Symphony.
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Today, he serves as the E♭ soprano cornetist with the North Carolina Brass Band, Principal Trumpet with the Charlotte Civic Orchestra, and Principal Trumpet and Executive Director of the Orchestra of the Carolinas. Beyond his musical work, he is a college and career counselor at The Nest Academy, a remarkable school supporting refugee students from around the world. He is also a devoted—and very busy—chauffeur to his eight grandchildren.