The Maine Pops Concert Band conducted its 2025 Fall Concert “Who We Are” on Sunday, November 2 in front of nearly 300 attendees at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center in Westbrook, ME.
The 102-member band performed seven selections by musicians and composers who influenced the band’s members’ desires to pick up an instrument and learn to perform. In planning the concert, Maine Pops Director David Watts surveyed members on what band members listened to, what they enjoyed, and what motivated them to pick up an instrument. Watts then compiled information and developed a concert with a program that challenged the band’s talents and showed the audience “Who We Are.”
The band performed the following compositions during their 85-minute concert:
Soaring with John Williams – John Williams (arranged by Robert W. Smith)
Original Dixieland Concerto – John Warrington
Mambo (from West Side Story) – Leonard Bernstein (arranged by Michael Sweeney)
The Beatles: Love – John Lennon and Paul McCartney (arranged by Jay Babcock)
Ellington! – Arranged by Stephen Bulla
The Best of Earth, Wind and Fire – Arranged by Peter Kleine Schaars
Selection from Les Miserables – Arranged by Warren Barker
The concert video is now available on the band’s YouTube channel. Many thanks to John Cranton of Scarborough Community Access Television for producing the video that will also air on the town’s Spectrum Community Access Channel 2.
Upcoming Concerts
With the fall concert completed, the band is now focusing on two holiday performances in December. The first involves the Beach Street Big Band – one of the 10 Maine Pops small ensembles – will perform a holiday big band concert on Thursday, December 4 at the 1st Parish Congregation Church in Saco. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Under the direction of Tom Lizotte, the 20-member jazz band is slated to combine traditional big band charts with a selection of holiday favorites.
On December 14, the Maine Pops Concert Band returns to the Westbrook Performing Arts Center for its annual Christmas benefit concert, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Watts has selected 14 holiday compositions which are currently in rehearsal. The concert will benefit selected charities in the greater Portland area.
Admission to both holiday concerts is a $15 donation per person. Students are admitted free of charge.
For more information on concerts and other Maine Pops Concert Band events, please visit our website at www.mainepops.org or our public Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mainepops.
