Brass, Reeds, and Percussion: June 20 and 24, 2026

Alex Lithgow is known as the Sousa of the Antipodes, which — to us in the northern hemisphere — refers to New Zealand and Australia. Lithgow was born in Scotland in 1870, but his family soon emigrated to Invercargill, New Zealand. He learned to play both the cornet and the violin and played in the violin the Theater Royal Orchestra. Age age 23, he toured New Zealand as a professional cornet soloist. He eventually moved to Australia, where he conducted numerous bands. Of the 200 marches he compoed, he is perhaps best known for the march named after the town where he grew up: Invergargill. Today’s edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion opens with “Invercargill” performed by the Dallas Wind Symphony.

1. 1. Invercargill (1909)
      Composer:  Alex F. Lithgow (1870-1929)
      Performer:  Dallas Wind Symphony
      Album:  Marches I’ve Missed
   2. Dem Lenz Entgegent (Towards Spring)
      Composer:  Herman Blankenburg (1876-1956)
      Performer:  German Border Police Band of Berlin
      Album:  Herman Ludwig Blankenburg: Our March King
   3. Le Carnaval Romain (1843)
      Composer:  Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
      Performer:  Band of Her Majesty’s Marines (Commando Training Center)
      Album:  Action Front
   4. Princess Leia’s Theme
      Composer:  John Williams (1932- )
      Performer:  Band of Her Majesty’s Marines(Commando Training Center)
      Album:  Action Front
   5. Overture from “Tancredi“
      Composer:  Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
      Performer:  Consortium Classicum
      Album:  Rossini Overtures Arranged for Wind Ensemble
   6. Tequila
      Composer:  Daniel Flores, a.k.a. Chuck Rio (1929-2006)
      Performer:  Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra
      Album:  Cuban Mambo
   7. Linda Mujer (Beautiful Woman)
      Composer:  Rafael Duchesne Mondriguez (1890-1986)
      Performer:  Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra
      Album:  Cuban Mambo
   8. Yellow Submarine (1966)
      Composer:  John Lennon (1940-1980) & Paul McCartney (1942- )
      Performer:  Civic Band of Soncino (Italty)
      Album:  Rhapsody in Band
   9. Music from “A Chorus Line“
      Composer:  Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012)
      Performer:  Marc Reift Wind Orchestra
      Album:  Best of Broadway
   10. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (also known as Parade of the Tin Soldiers)
       Composer:  Leon Jessell (1871-1942), arranged by J. J. Morrisey
       Performer:  Dallas Wind Symphony
       Album:  Marches I’ve Missed