Community band to perform A Concert of Celebrations in Kalispell and Whitefish

The Flathead Valley Community Band presents A Concert of Celebrations with two performances scheduled Nov. 6 and Nov. 13. 

One of the featured pieces will be “In the Cradle of Freedom,” written by local composer Craig Thomas Naylor in 2019 as a commission for the Fredericksburg Virginia Community Concert band to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The small hamlet of Fredericksburg hosted visits from many of the founding fathers. George Washington grew up there, Thomas Jefferson spent time in local inns during his travels and the law offices of fifth President James Monroe were located in the town. 

During the Civil War Fredericksburg was the site of many important battles and a transit point for slaves escaping bondage. During the Civil Rights movement in the ’60s, Fredericksburg was again a focal point with protests, proactive responses by regional African American churches and prominent lunch-counter protests.