The Dave Alexander Band joins Symphony of the Hills for the next Pops concert on Jan 7, Western Swing: The Official Music of Texas.
For Release: Dec 26, 2022–When Dave Alexander puts his six-piece western swing band on stage with the Symphony of the Hills on January 7, the most difficult task will be focusing on his own playing.
“I’m a big orchestra fan,” explained the veteran jazz musician. “My biggest thing is I have to keep my mind on what I’m supposed to do. Because I’ll get distracted, listening to all these woodwind parts with all these old songs that Bob Wills and the guys used to play. It’s so good that it takes me away from what my job is. It just really is beautiful.”
Alexander has no one to blame but himself. After studying jazz at the University of North Texas, he started his own western swing band. His dad was also a professional musician who had played with the legends, including Bob Wills. One day Alexander the younger received a package from his dad.
“A box arrived on my doorstep from my dad with about 200 hours of listening,” Alexander said. “It was original recordings and all kinds of stuff that my dad had gotten off the gigs.”
It made a profound impression.
“I transcribed a bunch of this stuff and I found gold. Even within the sour notes and beer bottles clinking and all the stuff that was on these tapes, the music was unbelievable. I said I’ll score it not so much for a western swing band, but for a brass western swing band.”
He added trumpets, trombones, and saxophone, then violins. With scores for an entire orchestra, he created “Symphony of the West”–a full symphony show–as a tribute to the American Cowboy.
“I realized the finest way to deliver this music was by combining western swing with an orchestra. There literally is nothing lacking.”
The audience at the Symphony of the Hills Pops concert will be able to experience this unexpected blend of genres at the annual Pops Concert: Western Swing, the Official Music of Texas, on Saturday, January 7, 2023, at 7:30 pm at the Cailloux Theater in Kerrville.
What will they hear as the Dave Alexander Band joins the symphony? Nothing less than a catalog of western swing tunes.
“We’ll be doing Big Balls in Cowtown and Take Me Back to Tulsa,” Alexander said. “I’ll throw in Deep in the Heart of Texas, and some compositions of mine. I feel obligated to keep my cowboy roots in all this because it started with cowboys playing dances, and the song needed to go longer so they could dance to it. So they improvised. That’s how it really got its start. They just played dance music and kept playing.”
The concert is preceded by a Beer and Wine Reception in the Lobby starting at 6:30. Guests are encouraged to arrive wearing their “western best” dresses and outfits to get into the spirit of the evening. That in-person attendance is important to creating a connection, according to Alexander.
“When you’re sitting in the seats at a live performance, there is no smoke and mirrors,” he said. “The audience says, let me see you do it. I think that ties us to the audience. That’s a love connection you can’t do on the internet.”
Seats can be reserved online at caillouxperformingarts.com or by calling or visiting the Cailloux Theater Box Office, (830) 896-9393.
Details on all concerts, along with ticket information, can be found at www.symphonyofthehills.org, via email at info@symphonyofthehills.org, or by calling 830-792-7469.
Concert Sponsors are Peterson Health and Texas Hill Country Bank.
Upcoming concerts:
February 23, 2023
Edvard Grieg: Keyboard Brilliance
April 27, 2023
Orchestral Fire: Tchaikovsky
