Author: Steve Barrett

Financing a non-profit musical organization takes a lot of work dedicated to soliciting donations, conducting fundraising, and writing requests for grants. For community bands like the Maine Pops Concert Band, raising funds to finance its annual operation requires the help from the community it serves.

In the spirit of the recent “Giving Tuesday” observance following Thanksgiving, the Maine Pops is again looking to its community for donations and grants that will help keep concert band music in our local communities. Contributions by its members, and through the generosity of donors – individuals and groups – are important to meet our annual expenses.

In a Maine Pops 2023 Donation Appeal Letter focused on donors and contributors that was released December 1, Maine Pops President Bob Swerdlow expressed his thanks to those donors who already support the band’s work financially, while also appealing for new donors to consider a tax-deductible gift this year.

“As an educational non-profit organization, we work to build community through music,” said Swerdlow. “Our members are diverse in age, experience, and ability. Yet, they all share one thing: a love of playing band music.”

In addition, Swerdlow said the Maine Pops will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2023, with grants and donations needed to help the band in its celebration events.

The Maine Pops – a 60-member community band serving the Greater Portland Area – does its fair share of contributing its musical talents to help raise funds for various organizations and charities. It is season-long campaign to “build community through music” began in with a series of summer concerts, an annual fall concert in Portland, and a pair of Christmas benefits performances slated for December.

Community members interested in donating to the Maine Pops can do so by sending a check made out to “Maine Pops” to Laura Merten, Maine Pops Treasurer, 72 Harbor Place, South Portland, ME 04106. Contributors may also donate using Venmo to Victoria Swerdlow at (207) 712-7119.

For more information about contributing, please send a note to president@mainepops.org.

The Maine Pops Concert Band is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit corporation.

The Portland-based Maine Pops Concert Band will again collaborate with two area churches in holiday fundraising efforts, performing a pair of Christmas Concerts to celebrate the holiday season and close out their 2022 performance schedule.

Fresh off their successful fall concert held November 20, the 60-member community band has spent three weeks rehearsing 13 holiday-focused compositions. These selections will offer a wide variety of music ranging from “Feliz Navidad” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to “Greensleeves and “The Holly and the Ivy.”

And yes…the band will again perform Leroy Anderson’s holiday classic, “Sleigh Ride.”

The first of the two benefit concerts will be held Sunday, December 11, beginning at 2:30 p.m. at St. Luke’s Cathedral, located at 143 State Street in Portland. This concert continues a long-standing Maine Pops tradition of holiday fundraising with St. Luke’s.

“These are challenging times for all food pantries,” said Mary Brighthaupt, Executive Director of St. Luke’s Food Pantry – the primary focus of the concert’s fundraising effort this year. She said that throughout the year, the pantry supports nearly 600 families and has been a reliable neighborhood resource for decades. “Many are new Mainers with multiple challenges such as language, housing, and transportation. The support of Maine Pops allows us to meet these challenges.”

Three days later, the Maine Pops will return to the Mountainside Community Church, located at 18 Mountain Road in Falmouth, on December 14 for a 7 p.m. concert. Like with St. Luke’s, the Maine Pops has a long-standing relationship with the Mountainside church.

Diane Ray, the wife of Mountainside Community Church pastor Mac Ray and a member of the Maine Pops, said Mountainside is dedicating much of the concert collections to purchasing a wheelchair for a young man with special needs who needs a replacement chair. Additional money will also go into supplementing Mountainside’s homeless ministry efforts.

The Maine Pops will take a holiday break following the December 14 performance, and begin work on their spring and summer performance season on January 11 at Scarborough High School from 7 to 9 p.m. The band is slated to perform a 2:30 p.m. spring concert on April 30, and the band is recruiting for new musicians. The Maine Pops is in need for clarinet, oboe, trumpet, French horn, and percussion players, but is open to accepting all concert band musicians.

If interested in joining the band, please send a note to president@mainepops.org to apply.

The Maine Pops Concert Band is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit corporation. Contributions may be tax-deductible.

The first of three final 2022 concerts by the Maine Pops Concert Band will take place on Sunday, November 20, at 2:30 p.m. at St. Luke’s Cathedral, located at 143 State Street in Portland.

“Maine Pops Unplugged” is the theme of band’s annual fall concert, with 11 compositions slated to provide a wide variety of music for attendees of ages. The featured concert selections will include a couple of medleys featuring music from Adele and Tony Bennett, a big-band favorite, movie and television themes, and a concert march.

The band – under the direction of David Watts – is now approaching 35 years of community service to the Greater Portland area and reaching out to its audiences by “Building Community Through Music.” Following a successful summer concert series, the band is taking on new music and new challenges to provide community residents with memorable performances while continuing to recruit musicians into the organization.

“This season we are excited to welcome quite a few new players into the band,” said Watts. “As folks have moved around the state and the country, they’ve brought a wealth of musical talent with them. This has only enhanced the sound of Maine Pops as we continue to rebuild and welcome musicians back into our ranks after the COVID shutdowns.”

Watts said the fall concert is programmed to explore some of the big names in music over the last century and beyond, such Glenn Miller, John Phillip Sousa, Samuel Barber, Adele, Vaughan Williams, and Tony Bennett. “We hope to introduce you to some rarely heard pieces from well-known composers, as well as contemporary takes on classic folk songs,” said Watts. “And adding to it all are some thrilling – and perhaps even chilling – sounds from TV and film. With all of this, we bring you Maine POPS, Unplugged!”

The concert is open to the public, with donations of $10 per person accepted at the door to help defer operating costs for the performance.

Holiday Benefit Concerts in December

Once the fall concert is complete, the Maine Pops will quickly move into holiday mode and prepare for two Christmas benefit concerts in December. On December 11, the band returns to St. Luke’s for a 2:30 p.m. concert. The performance continues a long tradition of holiday concerts between the Maine Pops and St. Luke’s, with proceeds going to the church’s humanitarian efforts in and around the Portland area.

The band will conclude its holiday season with its second holiday concert on Wednesday, December 14 at the Mountainside Community Church, located at 18 Mountain Road in Falmouth, ME. As with the St. Luke’s holiday concert, proceeds from the Mountainside performance will go to humanitarian efforts in the Portland region.

For more information, please contact president@mainepops.org or sbarrett@mainepops.org.

The Maine Pops is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit corporation. Contributions may be tax-deductible.

The Maine Pops Concert Band – serving communities in the greater Portland area – has announced its concert schedule for the 2022 Fall and Holiday season.

The band – now approaching 35 years of community service to the Greater Portland area – will be performing three concerts to finish 2022, beginning with its annual Fall concert slated for Sunday, November 20, at 2:30 p.m. The performance will be held at St. Luke’s Cathedral, located at 143 State Street in Portland, ME. The band – under the direction of David Watts – is currently rehearsing potential compositions for the fall event and it will announce its concert line-up as the event approaches.

With the Christmas holidays just a few months away, the Maine Pops will return to St. Luke’s on Sunday, December 11, for the first of two regional holiday benefit concerts. The St. Luke’s concert – also slated for 2:30 p.m. – continues a long tradition of holiday concerts between the Maine Pops and St. Luke’s, with proceeds going to the church’s humanitarian efforts in and around the Portland area.

The band will conclude its holiday season with its second holiday concert on Wednesday, December 14 at the Mountainside Community Church, located at 18 Mountain Road in Falmouth, ME. Proceeds from the Mountainside performance will go to humanitarian efforts in the Portland region.

Updated information on the musical selections, admission prices and donation recommendations will be announced prior to each event.

For more information on the Maine Pops Concert Band and its 2022 Fall and holiday schedule, please contact president@mainepops.org or sbarrett@mainepops.org.

The Maine Pops is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit corporation. Contributions may be tax-deductible.![]

With the completion of its spring concert In May, the Maine Pops Concert Band is now preparing for the 2022 summer concert season. Musicians are continuing their Wednesday night sessions, reviewing music the director has selected from its fall and spring concert performance repertoire; adding a few extra compositions that are favorites of the outdoor season.

As the band continues to emerge from the two-year impact of COVID-19, it is still in need for community musicians to join its ranks and return the band to pre-pandemic numbers. This summer, as the band heads into its 2022-2023 season in September, it is continuing its campaign to bring additional members into the organization.

“Our mission is to support community though concert band music and we continue to play, both virtually and in-person when safe,” said Bob Swerdlow, President of the Maine Pops.” Now, the Maine Pops needs to broaden its instrumental base by inviting past musicians back and recruit new musicians for the band.

Last season, the band performed most of their concerts with about 50 musicians; good numbers, but far below the 90-to-100 musicians the band had prior to the pandemic. In some cases, Maine Pops musicians retired and relocated away from the Portland area. However, many musicians simply were not ready to rejoin large ensembles to perform indoors – especially those with pre-existing health conditions. Vaccinations and boosters, combined with a general feeling of normalcy, have helped increase numbers, but it now time to reach out and recruit to prepare for the new season.

For now, the Maine Pops still maintains its vaccination requirements for rehearsals and concerts, and abided by COVID-19 policies of each performance venue. This practice is for the safety of the musicians and its audiences. The band was able to safely conduct its fall, holiday, and spring concerts during the 2021-2022, providing the welcomed sound of live musical performance to Portland-area audiences. As policies and requirements change regarding COVID-19, the band will adjust to abide by those guidelines.

The Maine Pops Concert Band accepts players of all nationalities, creeds, ages, and occupations. The band is always looking for new members. Interested musicians need not audition, but the band expects new members to be proficient in their selected instrument. Currently, there are specific needs for flute, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, but welcomes all musicians who play standard concert band instruments to join.

Applicants can go online at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScP3bTxIxXAODR3c2DWK3BqZKORLgqgR6M0cGZfIL5wxfrVjA/viewform, or they can download a printable form https://drive.google.com/file/d/10zpsmmfonxXMu4O_L1YWHfthPafeBEpd/view and submit their registration at a rehearsal.

If interested in becoming a Maine Pops Concert Band performer, please email Bob Swerdlow at president@mainepops.org.

The Maine Pops is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit corporation. Donors can mail their tax-deductible donations to Laura Merten, Treasurer, Maine Pops Concert Band, 72 Harbor Place, South Portland, Maine 04106.