News – Maine POPS Concert Band

2026-04-19 Beach Street Big Band Spring Concert to Kick Start Performance Summer

As a way of kickstarting their spring and summer performance calendar, the Beach Street Big Band will hold its 2026 spring concert on Thursday, May 14 at 7 p.m. inside the First Parish Congregational Church, located at 12 Beach Street in Saco, ME.

The 18-member big band – a small ensemble affiliate of the Maine Pops Concert Band – plans an hour-long performance that will lead to a variety of private and public appearances between May and July. Recommended donation for the performance is $15 per person, with students granted free admission.

The Big Street Big Band will perform in concert on Thursday, May 14, at 7 p.m. inside the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, ME

Under the direction of Thomas Lizotte, the Beach Street Big Band plays traditional big band and swing music from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, plus more contemporary swing music. For the May 14 performance, the band is working on big band music from composers like Benny Carter, Errol Garner, Tyler Mire, Gerry Mulligan, Oliver Nelson, Sammy Nestico, David Raskin, and Harry Warren. It’s also working on arrangements by Michele Fernandez, Terry White, and Dave Wolpe.

Final selections for the May 14 concert will be announced later.

In addition to the spring concert, the band is looking to fill June and July with both private and public performances before taking a concert break in August. Already confirmed are an 11:30 a.m. concert on Sunday, July 19 at the Yarmouth Clam Festival in Yarmouth, ME, and a 7 p.m. gig on Wednesday, July 29 at Jordan Hall in Ocean Park, ME. Beach Street manager Peter Flournoy is also planning to schedule private concerts at local retirement communities in the greater Portland area.

The Beach Street Big Band is one of nine active small ensembles with the Maine Pops. A list of ensembles is posted on the band’s website at https://mainepops.org/instrumental-ensembles.

In addition to performing as a full wind ensemble for seasonal and holiday concerts, the Maine Pops expanded its mission to conduct small ensemble performances to serve our regional area. These ensembles not only provide outreach opportunities to connect with various civic, educational, and religious groups, but also provide musical opportunities to Maine Pops musicians looking to build cohesiveness within their sections and expand on their performance experiences beyond the concert hall.

Organizations looking to request a Maine Pops Concert Band musical ensemble should contact the band’s small ensembles coordinator at kyleneugebauer@gmail.com.

The Maine Pops is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt educational non-profit organization, with a mission to build community through music.

2026-04-12 Maine Pops Conducts Second Annual Small Ensembles Concert in Saco.

An audience of about 75 people – including Maine Pops Concert Band members – attend the 2nd Annual Maine Pops Small Ensembles Concert, held April 12 at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, Maine.

Flautist Chris Elbrader performs on bass flute with the Maine Pops Flute Choir during the band’s 2nd annual small ensemble concert held April 12 in Saco. Elbrader also performed as a clarinetist with the band “Clarinet Chromatics” ensemble. (Photo by Steve Barrrett.)

The two-hour concert featured six of the Maine Pops’ nine active small ensembles in performance in an effort to expand on each musician’s talent, build confidence in small ensemble events and providing entertainment to activities and functions at smaller venues.

The six ensembles that performed were:
The Clarinet Chromatics Ensemble,
The Harbor Brass Quintet,
The Maine Pops Flute Choir,
The Polished Brass Ensemble,
Quince – The Maine Pops Woodwind Quintet,
The Down East Jazz Combo.

Trumpeter Thomas Lizotte, trumpeter Scott Simundza, and saxophonist Sue Niemoeller perform with the Down East Jazz Combo. It’s the newest of the nine active Maine Pops Concert Band small ensembles. The combo made its debut at the band’s 2nd annual small ensembles concert held April 12 in Saco, ME. (Photo by Steve Barrett)

Many thanks to the Reverend Scott Cousineau and the First Parish Congregational Church for hosting this performance, the Maine Pops members who provided support, and to the many attendees who enjoyed the concert.

Next up is the 2026 Maine Pops Concert Band Spring Concert, slated for Wednesday, April 29, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center in Westbrook, Maine. Suggested donation for attendance is $15, with students admitted free.

Polished Brass participates in Scarborough Easter Service

A quintet of members from Polished Brass – the Maine Pops Concert Band’s Brass Ensemble – performed during Easter Services on April 5 at St. Nicolas’ Episcopal Church in Scarborough, Maine. The ensemble is one of nine active ensembles performing in community events in the Southern Maine region.

Polished Brass will join five other ensembles at the 2nd Annual Maine Pops Small Ensemble Concert on Sunday, April 12 at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, beginning at 7 p.m. Recommended donation is $15 per person, with students granted free admission.

Five members of the Maine Pops Concet Band’s Polished Brass ensemble performed during Easter Services at St. Nicholas’ Episcopal Church in Scarborough. From l to r, Arthur McClanahan, Diane McClanahan, Peter Flournoy, Tom Mackie, and Jim McDonough. (Photo courtesy of Arthur McClanahan.)

2026-03-22 Maine Pops to Conduct Small Ensembles Concert on April 12 in Saco.

The Maine Pops Concert Band will conduct its second annual Small Ensembles Concert on Sunday, April 12 at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, ME.

Featured ensembles performing are:
The Maine Pops Flute Choir
Polished Brass (brass ensemble)
Clarinet Chromatics (clarinet ensemble)
Harbor Bass (brass quintet)
Quince (woodwind quintet)
The Maine Pops Jazz Combo

The Harbor Brass quintet will be one of six small ensembles performing at the April 12 Maine Pops Small Ensembles concert. The performance is slated for April 12 in Saco.

Five of the six ensembles performed in the band’s inaugural small ensembles concert last year, while the Maine Pops Jazz Combo will make its performance debut during this event.

“While participation in the Maine Pops Concert Band remains the primary focus for all musicians within the Maine Pops organization,” explained Director David Watts, “I am very hopeful that encouraging and supporting the formation of small ensembles provides additional performance outlets within our communities.”

Watts explained that as the organization has more than doubled in membership over the past six years, it is difficult for the concert band to serve the public’s desire for musicians to visit schools, retirement homes, and non-profits. In addition, he said that the level of musicianship continues to grow. “The concert band will always remain a teaching ensemble and the ‘face’ of the organization,” said Watts. “But playing in small ensembles challenges musicians in other ways that a concert band cannot. So, I see nothing but positive resulting from this venture – greater growth and participation for our members, and greater outreach to our communities.”

The Maine Pops Flute Choir – one of 10 Maine Pops Concert Band small ensembles – will perform during the band’s 2nd annual small ensembles concert on April 12 in Saco. (Photo by Steve Barrett)

Suggested donation for the 90-minute performance is $15, with students granted free admission.

Now in its 37th 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 2025-2026 season. Most will perform on April 29, the band’s first concert since their December holiday engagement, at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center in Westbrook, ME. That concert will begin at 7 p.m.

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

2026-03-15 Maine Pops Small Ensembles Reach Out to School and Senior Center to Entertain and Encourage Music in Our Communities

Over the past few years, the Maine Pops Concert Band has promoted their continuing mission of “Building Community Through Music.” Part of that “building” has including creating small ensembles from the full concert band and performing in small ensemble activities that expand the reach of the band to educate, inform, perform, and entertain a wide variety of audiences.

This week, two small ensembles continued that push by performing in separate and meaningful engagements with both middle school musicians and with residents of a senior residential community.

Beach Street Big Band trumpeters Scott Simundza, Peter Flournoy, Ray Levesque and Emily Odrzywolski perform at Saco Middle School as part of the “Music in Our Schools” performance with the Saco Middle School Jazz Band on March 12. (Photo by Steve Barrett)

On March 12, members of the Maine Pops Concert Band’s Beach Street Big Band performed with music students from the Saco Middle School Jazz Band in a “Music in Our Schools” at Saco Middle School in Saco, ME. In this event, Beach Street band members conducted sectional clinics with middle school trumpeters, trombonists, saxophonists, and percussionists to provide guidance, encouragement, and promote their continued participation in music.

The clinics led to a combined concert first featuring the Saco Middle School Jazz Band under the direction of school band director Nicole Wise, followed by a performance by the Beach Street Big Band, under the direction of Tom Lizotte. The two bands concluded the evening with a joint performance of “I Found a New Baby.”

Beach Street Big Band Saxophonists Jeff Shedd and Bob Swerdlow are surrounded by student saxophonists from the Saco Middle School Jazz Band during their joint concert held March 12 in Saco. The performance was part of the “Music in Our Schools” month-long observance. (Photo by Steve Barrett.)

About 50 people – mostly parents of the middle school musicians – attended the 75-minute concert. Under the direction of Wise, the middle school jazz band performed four pieces of music:

“Smack Dab in the Middle”
“Maybe Someday” (featuring guest performer Matthew Lagarde on flugelhorn. Lagarde is the band director of Thornton Academy in Saco)
“Chili Pepper 101”
“Crank It Up.”

The Beach Street Big Band performed the following:
“What’s Ya Got” (featuring saxophonist Sean O’Brien and trumpeter Scott Simundza)
“Ballad for Bennie” (featuring clarinetist Bob Swerdlow)
“Feeling Good” (featuring vocalist Jen Saunders)
“In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” (featuring vocalist Marissa Brown)
“Indiana”

Harbor Brass Impresses Piper Shores Attendees

The Harbor Brass – the Maine Pops Concert Band’s brass quintet – perform at the Piper Shores Retirement Community in Scarborough on March 14. Musicians are (l to r) Nate Caron, Alison McCarty, Tom Mackie, Jim McDonough and Larry Langmore. (Photo by Steve Barrett.)

Two days later, Harbor Brass – the Maine Pops Concert Band’s brass quintet – performed a 75-minute concert on March 14 for residents of the Piper Shores retirement community in Scarborough. It was the first time a Maine Pops small ensemble had entertained at Piper Shores, but it follows a new trend of small ensemble performances are senior centers, churches, and community events.

Playing in front of about 50 residents from the Founders Room stage, the quintet performed 15 compositions. Musical selections were:

When the Saints Go Marching In
Simple Gifts
Kanon
Songs from the American West
Danny Boy
Yesterday
Hallelujah
Jesu
What a Wonderful World
Emperor Hymn
Largo
Bethena
Can’t Help Falling in Love
Summertime
House of the Rising Sun

The use of small ensembles expands the Maine Pops Concert Band’s footprint in the Southern Maine area. Because the Maine Pops now includes over 100 active musicians, it’s become difficult to perform in small, confined areas. The small ensembles – now numbering 11 groups ranging from quintets and combos to larger groups such as the Maine Pops Flute Choir and the Polished Brass – provides greater flexibility for the band to fulfill its mission of music in our communities. Organizations looking to schedule a small group can contact Kyle Neugebauer – the band’s small ensembles coordinator – at kyleneugebauer@gmail.com.

Patrons wishing to see many of the band’s small ensembles can attend their band’s second annual Small Ensembles Concert on Sunday, April 12 at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, ME. Suggested donation to attend is $15, with students granted free admission.

2026-02-28 Maine POPS Concert Band Spring Concert Slated for April 29 in Westbrook

The Maine POPS Concert Band will perform its 2026 spring concert on Wednesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center located at 471 Stroudwater Street in Westbrook, ME. The suggested donation to attend is $15 per person, with students granted free admission.

The Maine POPS – under the direction of David Watts – has been working on spring performance material since January 7th. The Spring Concert on April 29th will be the final formal concert of the band’s 2025-2026 season and will kick off preparations for the band’s annual 2026 summer concert series tentatively slated to start June 27.

Highlighting the concert is a performance of “Give Us This Day,” an exceptional short symphony in two movements for band by noted contemporary composer David Maslanka. In addition, the Maine POPS will perform a variety of compositions ranging from contemporary classics, movie soundtracks, concert marches, and traditional favorites.

To Watts, the performance of “Give Us This Day” is a milestone in the band’s musical growth over the past three years. Last performed in Maine in 2015 by the Maine All-State Concert Band, Watts sees the Maslanka piece as another step in taking the band to higher levels of music excellence.

“For our 25-26 season, I chose to explore a theme of Who We Are, The Music That Shaped Us,” said Watts. “The repertoire I’ve chosen for our spring concert continues this exploration. In addition to movie and Broadway themes, this concert pushes us into standard wind ensemble works of the 20th and 21st centuries performed by top college, international, and military ensembles.”

Watts added that composers such as Henry Filmore, Frank Ticheli, Ralph Vaughn Williams and David Maslanka are front and center on this performance. “These composers are studied by musicians every season, every year, around the world. Their music not only inspires musicians to grow but gives audiences exposure to music written specially for our genre, the wind band. They are not arrangements of music written for jazz band, pop singers, or movie soundtracks. They are pieces written just for us. “

Based in Scarborough, Maine, the Maine Pops Concert Band has been an active concert band in Southern Maine since its founding in 1988. Reduced in numbers due to the 2020-2021 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the band has significantly rebounded in membership, now boasting over 100 active members, ranging from high school students to retirees. Its growth isn’t only in numbers, but also in its level of music proficiency; a level that allows Watts to select the challenging music the band members perform.

For more information about the April 29 concert performance, please contact Gretchen Ascher, at (248) 697-7552 or ascherg100@gmail.com, or Steve Barrett at (410) 279-0987 or stevebarrett@verizon.net.

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

The Maine Pops Concert Band is an educational 501(c)3 non-profit corporation with a mission of building community through music. Contributions may be tax-deductible.

2025-12-19 Video of Maine Pops Concert Band Holiday Benefit Concert is now available.

The video of the December 14 Maine Pops Concert Band Holiday Benefit Concert is now available for viewing on the band’s YouTube channel. The concert was held at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center in Westbrook, ME.

Many thanks to John Cranton of Scarborough Community Access Television for recording the concert for the band and for Scarborough’s Spectrum Channel 2. The concert will air in Scarborough on December 21, December 24 and December 27 at 7 p.m.

The band performed 14 holiday selections for the concert:

Overture to a Winter Festival – arranged by James Curnow
Silver Bells – Jay Livingston and Ray Evans (arr. James Swearingen)
Carol of the Bells – arranged by Chip Davis and Robert Longfield
Brazilian Sleigh Ride – Percy Faith (arr. Lloyd Conley)
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Richard Pola and George Wyle (arr. Chris Sharp)
White Christmas – Irving Berlin
Festive Sounds of Hanukah – arranged by Bill Holcombe
We Three Kings – John H. Hopkins, Jr. (arr. John M. Pasternak)
Candlelight Carol – John Rutter (arr. Jay Dawson)
Go Tell it on the Mountain – arranged by Jay Dawson
Greensleeves – arranged by Alfred Reed
A Christmas Portrait – arranged by Jerry Nowak
Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson
Hallelujah Chorus – George Frederic Handel (arr. Jack Bullock)

2025-12-14 Maine Pops Celebrates Holidays, Donates to Charities at Westbrook Performing Arts Center

Maine Pops Concert Band Director David Watts addresses the Westbrook audience while band members don holiday hats and attire for the “Sleigh Ride,” traditionally performed at the band’s holiday concert. (Photo courtesy of Larry Langmore.)

The snow was much more than predicted, and it likely had some impact on the attendance. Yet there was still a large audience at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center to support the Maine Pops Concert Band’s annual holiday benefit concert, held December 14 in Westbrook. The 90-minute concert raised funds for the Scarborough-based Project Grace in Scarborough, and the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland pet food bank. The 335 people who attended and donated allowed the band to donate $1,200 to each charity toward their missions. The band thanks all who attended and donated to their causes.

Following a pre-concert performance by the Maine Pops Flute Choir as patrons entered the auditorium, the full concert band under David Watts’ direction performed the following compositions:

Overture to a Winter Festival – arranged by James Curnow
Silver Bells – Jay Livingston and Ray Evans (arr. James Swearingen)
Carol of the Bells – arranged by Chip Davis and Robert Longfield
Brazilian Sleigh Ride – Percy Faith (arr. Lloyd Conley)
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Richard Pola and George Wyle (arr. Chris Sharp)
White Christmas – Irving Berlin
Festive Sounds of Hanukah – arranged by Bill Holcombe
We Three Kings – John H. Hopkins, Jr. (arr. John M. Pasternak)
Candlelight Carol – John Rutter (arr. Jay Dawson)
Go Tell it on the Mountain – arranged by Jay Dawson
Greensleeves – arranged by Alfred Reed
A Christmas Portrait – arranged by Jerry Nowak
Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson
Hallelujah Chorus – George Frederic Handel (arr. Jack Bullock)

Maine Pops Concert Band French horn section. (Photo courtesy of Alison McCarty)

Many thanks to the Westbrook Performing Arts Center for hosting for the second consecutive year, and to John Cranton of Scarborough Community Access Television for recording today’s concert for broadcast on Scarborough Spectrum Channel 2 and for our use on our YouTube channel.

It’s time for a break from rehearsals and performances, but the band will resume rehearsals on January 7 to begin preparation for its April spring concert. More details on date, site and program will be announced later.

2025-12-13 Maine Pops Flute Choir Entertains Shoppers at Maine Mall in South Portland

Anne Keefe-Caton (left) and Carol Daigle perform with the Maine Pops Flute Choir during its concert at Maine Mall in South Portland on December 13. (Photo by Steve Barrett.)

For 10-member Maine Pops Flute Choir, it was a perfect location during one of the busiest shopping days of the holiday season to hold a shopping center concert.

The flute choir conducted a 45-minute afternoon performance inside Maine Mall in South Portland, entertaining shoppers and observers with a series of holiday compositions for piccolo, flute, alto flute, and bass flute. Hundreds of shoppers stopped by; some taking in a song or two, others staying for the entire performance.

The Maine Pops Flute Choir – one of 10 Maine Pops Concert Band small ensembles – performed a 45-minute concert inside the Maine Mall in South Portland on December 13. (Photo by Steve Barrett)

The ensemble performed the following arrangements:

Ukrainian Bell Carol
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
Let it Snow
Still, Still, Still
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
A Christmas Carol Medley
Jingle Bells
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Dance of the Mirlitons
White Christmas
Sleigh Ride
We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Only two Maine Pops performances remain for the 2025 holiday season. The full concert band performs on December 14 at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Harbor Brass concludes the holiday season engagements with a return performance at the Rock Road Medical Complex in Westbrook at 3 p.m. on December 19.

Photos by Steve Barrett, Maine Pops Concert Band.

2025-12-10 Maine Pops “Harbor Brass” at Rock Row Medical Campus

The Maine Pops Concert Band’s Brass Quintet following their December 10 performance at the Rock Row Medical Campus in Westbrook. From left to right, Nate Caron (trumpet), Alison McCarty (French horn), Tom Mackie (tuba), Jim McDonough (trombone) and Larry Langmore (trumpet). Photo by Steve Barrett

Patients and visitors to the Rock Row Medical Campus in Westbrook got a special holiday treat on December 10, as they were entertained by the Harbor Brass – the Maine Pops’ brass quintet – in the building’s main lobby.

The quintet – trumpeters Larry Langmore and Nate Caron, trombonist Jim McDonough, French hornist Alison McCarty and tubist Tom Mackie – conducted the first of two holiday concerts at the Westbrook facility. The set list for the December 10 performance was:

Joy to the World,
Kanon,
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,
Adeste Fidelis,
Emperor Hymn,
Jesu,
Bethena,
Cantata,
Carol of the Bells,
Silent Night,
Deck the Halls, Hark the Herald Angles Sing,
We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

The Harbor Brass will return to the Rock Row Medical Campus on Friday, December 19 for a 3 p.m. performance – the final Maine Pops small ensembles performance of the holiday season.