The summer season has arrived, and the Maine Pops Concert Band officially begins its 2024-2025 performance schedule with a series of concerts during June, July, and August.
Following a well-attendance performance of their 2023 Spring Concert at Scarborough High School on April 27, the band – which serves the greater Portland metropolitan area – will perform selections used during their 2023-2024 fall and spring concerts, plus one or two extra works for the 2024 summer season. Last year’s summer concert series was widely attended by audiences seeking live musical entertainment in their communities.
The band, under the direction of David Watts, is slated to perform in eight events during the summer concert series. Of the eight, four are private concerts being conducted in Portland and Scarborough in support of specific audiences and activities. Music for the concert is taken from the band’s fall and spring concerts, with extra compositions traditionally prepared and ready for concert performance.
The first of the four scheduled public performances will be held on Saturday, June 29 when the Maine Pops will join 10 other community bands for the annual R.B. Hall Music Festival being hosted this year at the Stevens Brook Elementary School in Bridgton, ME. The Maine Pops is scheduled to perform from 11 to 11:40 a.m. that day. In addition, some members of the Maine Pops will join musicians of the other bands at noon for a massed band performance of R.B. Hall marches.
R.B. Hall was a Maine-born march composer who is honored annually at the festival – traditionally held every year on the last Saturday in June. The event marks the second official R.B. Hall Festival since performances were halted for three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The band’s public performance schedule has two additional confirmed performances and one tentative date in the greater Portland area. The first of the two confirmed concerts is a return visit to Portland’s Heseltine Park on Wednesday, July 17, beginning at 7 p.m. On Friday, August 16, the band will travel to Bath to perform at the city’s Library Park Gazebo at 6:30 p.m. In addition, the band is working to conduct one additional public performance and will announce that place, date, and time when arrangements are completed.
All public concerts are free to attend, but the band will accept donations to cover administrative costs.
The Maine Pops Concert Band encourages musicians of all ages – from school-age to senior citizens, and of all abilities to foster a life-long love of music, music history, performance, and our shared heritage. The band provides opportunities for musicians to enhance their musical skills and knowledge and serve the social welfare of our communities through the study, performance, and presentation of concert band music. The band is currently recruiting musicians from the greater Portland area in its efforts to fill positions in the trombone, French horn, euphonium, and percussion sections.
Information regarding the summer schedule is available on the Maine Pops website at www.mainepops.org, or through its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mainepops.
For questions regarding the band’s summer events, contact president@mainepops.org.
The Maine Pops is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit corporation. Contributions may be tax-deductible.
