Cedar City Community Band Brings Movie Magic to Life Tonight

Cedar City’s own Community Band takes the stage tonight—Wednesday, April 23, 2025—for a special concert celebrating the unforgettable film scores of John Williams. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Cedar High School auditorium, and admission is free.

Themed Movie Magic of John Williams, the concert features beloved selections from the legendary composer’s work. “We picked music that everybody probably knows—or at least recognizes—except for maybe one,” said Steve Shirts, band director, during an interview on KSUB’s Big Picture Morning Show. That one exception? The rousing march from the 1979 comedy 1941, which Shirts described as “fantastic music” from a “funny in a Napoleon Dynamite kind of way” film.

The concert is expected to last about an hour and fifteen minutes and is part of the band’s ongoing efforts to bring themed musical events to the community. Choosing the John Williams repertoire was a collaborative effort. “A couple of the members of the community band suggested it,” Shirts explained. “Honestly, picking music for concerts is a challenge. We try to do themed concerts, and when the suggestion came up, we took that and went with it.”

Band Encompasses Members Of All Ages

The Cedar City Community Band is made up of musicians ranging in age from 14 to over 70, with a core group of about 40 to 45 regular players. For tonight’s performance, the ensemble will include 68 members. “We have college students, high school students, and even some middle schoolers when their parents are members of the band,” Shirts said.

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Shirts, who has directed the group through four concerts over the past year, including Fourth of July and Veterans Day events, says tonight’s performance is especially exciting. “When you go back and look at the list of movies [Williams] wrote for—there are some pretty obscure ones,” he said, noting with surprise that Williams also arranged the music for Fiddler on the Roof early in his career.

Looking ahead, the band hopes to continue expanding its concert calendar and may even make a December performance a regular tradition. “That’s something the board is going to discuss in a couple of weeks,” Shirts said.For now, community members are encouraged to come enjoy a night of musical nostalgia. As Shirts summed it up: “There’s a lot of talent in this community… it’s an honor to interact with it.”

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You can get more information about the community band and the concert tonight by going to CedarCityCommunityBand.org. And you can listen to our entire discussion with Steve Shirts in the podcast below.