Category: Members

The sounds of the holidays will be ringing through the rafters of the Westbrook Performing Arts Center as the Maine Pops Concert Band will perform its annual holiday benefit concert on Sunday, December 15 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. This is a change in venue; the concert was previously announced to be held in Falmouth. Doors open at 2 p.m.

Proceeds from this year’s concert will benefit the Trauma Intervention Program of Greater Portland, (https://www.tipgreaterportland.org) and the Animal Rescue League of Greater Portland (https://arlgp.org) Pet Food Pantry. The recommended donation for the fundraising effort is $15 per person. Students are free to attend.

The band – under the direction of David Watts – has been rehearsing holiday music since November 6, and will present 12 compositions for the holiday audience. Compositions include a pair of Leroy Anderson’s classic works and two Chip Davis/Mannheim Steamroller holiday arrangements. The band will feature pieces from George Frederic Handel, Gustav Holst, David Lovrien, Evan Van Doren, and Robert Wendel. Other holiday arrangements include pieces by Eric Morales, Sammy Nestico, and Richard Saucedo.

Also scheduled is a pre-concert performance by the Maine Pops Flute Choir between 2 and 2:25 p.m. The ensemble plans six pre-concert pieces for patrons as they enter and settle in for the band performance and include works from Leroy Anderson, Sammy Cahn and Julie Styne, Irving Berlin, and James Lord Pierpoint. Many of the arrangements were adapted for flute choir by Patty Lawson, the Maine Pops Flute Choir lead.

Because of the growth in the Maine Pops Concert Band (nearly 100 musicians will perform) the band has had to move into a larger venue for its annual holiday benefit concert. The Westbrook Performing Arts Center, located at 471 Stroudwater Street in Westbrook, has a stage capable of holding the band, and a beautiful, two-tiered auditorium for the annual Christmas concert to raise funds for local causes during the holiday season. The band played its 2024 fall concert in Westbrook on November 3.

The holiday performance will be the last concert for the Maine Pops in 2024. Musicians will be taking an extended holiday break and resuming rehearsals on January 8, 2025, to prepare for the band’s spring concert on April 27. More details on the concert venue will be announced later.

For more information about the Maine Pops, please visit http://www.mainepops.org.

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

The Maine Pops Concert Band completed its 2024 fall concert before a fairly large audience inside the Westbrook Performing Arts Center in Westbrook, ME on November 3, 2024.

Nearly 85 members of the Maine Pops performed seven compositions in its first performance since its summer concert at the Bath Library Gazebo in August.

In the concert program, Director David Watts wrote, "My inspiration for selecting our repertoire for this season came from people listening to music and making the comment, ‘What’s the name of that song? I can’t place where I’ve heard it before.’”

Watts emphasized to the audience the role of this fall concert. "Some music simply transcends understanding. It
moves our soul," said Watts. "It lives in the recesses of our minds and can bring us joy, sadness, or simply Transport us to another time or location. Let the pieces today transport you."

The band performed the following compositions:

Eighties Flashback (medley)
The Rakes of Mallow
Excerpts from Appalachian Spring
Summer of ’69 (medley)
Adagio for Strings
Light Cavalry Overture
Seventy-Six Trombones

The event opened with a pre-concert performance by the Maine Pops Flute Choir as patrons entered the center.

The next Maine Pops Concert will be its annual Christmas Benefit Concert, slated for Sunday, December 15 at Falmouth High School in Falmouth, Maine. Doors will open at 2 p.m. for a 2:30 p.m. concert.

The colorful sight of fallen leaves on the often-damp streets and lawns of Southern Maine continue the transition from summer fun along the beaches to the anticipation of snow and colder weather. With the autumn chill comes the need for indoor entertainment as local music programs begin performances marking the fall and leading to the holiday season.

One of those local bands is the Scarborough-based Maine Pops Concert Band, which will perform their annual fall concert – “Great Composers – Greater Music” – on Sunday, November 3 at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center, located at 471 Stroudwater Street in Westbrook, Maine. The 90-minute performance begins at 2:30 p.m.

To celebrate the great composers, Maine Pops Director David Watts has selected a variety of compositions for performance in Westbrook. The fall concert features music ranging from marches to medleys and classical to popular music. These works include compositions by Leroy Anderson, Aaron Copland, Franz von Suppe, Meredith Willson, and Samuel Barber. Watts also selected a pair of medleys for audience members looking for a “flashback” to the 1960s and 1980s.

The band is soliciting a recommended $15 donation per person to attend the fall performance. Students can attend free of charge.

Now in its 36th year, the Maine Pops – under the direction of Watts – has become one of the largest community concert bands in Maine. There are currently over 100 musicians registered to perform with the band during the 2024-2025 season. Most will be in performance on November 3; the band’s first concert since their August engagement at the Library Park Gazebo in Bath, Maine.

For more information about scheduling, joining, contributing, or sponsoring the Maine Pops Concert Band, please visit http://www.mainepops.org.

Although delayed a month due to thunderstorm activities on July 17, the Maine Pops Concert Band was able to return to Portland’s Heseltine Park to perform for residents of the Woodfords Corner Community.

There were no weather problems this evening, but the band did have to make a few modifications to the original program, dropping "Jupiter" from the evening event. However, David Watts added "A Joyful Fanfare" and "Amparito Roca" to the playlist for a fairly large audience that brought lawn chairs, a picnic dinner and ice cream from the vendor adjacent to the park.

This evening’s performance consisted of:
The Star-Spangled Banner
A Joyful Fanfare
The Gallant Seventh
A Motown Portrait
I’m Shipping Up to Boston
A Closer Walk with Thee
633 Squadron
The Rolling Stones on Tour
Amparito Roca
Battle Hymn of the Republic
The Stars and Stripes Forever

The Maine Pops Concert Band will conclude its 2024 summer season with a performance at Bath’s Library Park Gazebo on Friday, August 16 at 6:30 p.m. Once completed, the band will take a two-week break before fall concert rehearsals begin in September.

The last of the Maine Pops Concert Band private concerts took place at the senior community center located at 100 State Street in Portland.

About 55 members of the concert band squeezed into the performance terrace to entertain residents who sat either in the complex courtyard or listened from their apartments. The band performed 11 compositions under overcast skies and the threat of circling seagulls.

Tonight’s program:

The Star-Spangled Banner
Where Eagles Dare
Just A Closer Walk with Thee
633 Squadron
Italian Festival
Victory at Sea
The Dam Busters
The Rolling Stones on Tour
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Shipping up to Boston
The Stars and Stripes Forever

The band will take a two-week break, returning to performance on Wednesday, August 14 with a 6:30 p.m. concert at the Cape Elizabeth Village Green in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.