The Knoxville Community Band will give a free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at the Tennessee Amphitheatre in World’s Fair Park. 

The concert will open with “Thunder and Lightning,” a march by Johann Strauss. The piece is a polka, and if you listen closely, you can hear the sound of thunder and lightning in the percussion section. 

Familiar pop songs are scattered throughout the band’s performance, including “Selections from ‘Oliver!’” and “Bacharach and David,” a medley of songs composed by Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David. The songs include “I Say a Little Prayer,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” “This Guy’s in Love With You,” “What the World Needs Now is Love” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.”

The band is directed by Larry Hicks, retired band director of Heritage High School in Blount County. Mark Boring, also retired from the Blount County school system, is the assistant band director. 

The Knoxville Community Band is comprised of instrumentalists in the community who like to play, and most have been playing since grammar school. Some players are band directors who like to take time out from their own bands to keep in practice on their major instruments, and others are professionals in the community who learned to play in school and don’t want to lose their expertise. All are volunteers, and all play because they love music.

The band is sponsored by the City of Knoxville Parks and Recreation Department. The group plays year round at festivals and other special events and performs a series of outdoor concerts during the summer. New members with expertise on wind or percussion instruments are welcome. Practices are from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays at Northwest Middle School.

For more information on the Knoxville Community Band, visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/recreation.