Photos - Maine POPS Concert Band

Maine Pops Concert Band Completes 35th Anniversary Season with Falmouth High School Performance

After a three-monthly delay, the Maine Pops Concert Band finally completed its 35th anniversary celebration with its "Bringer of Jollity Concert" held January 21 at the Falmouth High School auditorium in Falmouth, ME.

The concert was originally slated for November 19 as its annual fall concert but had to be postponed to illness to the band’s conductor.The band performed its complete fall concert line-up before a moderate-sized audience inside the auditorium.

The concert program was as follows:

A Joyful Fanfare
Italian Festival
Amparita Roca
A Motown Portrait
Root Beer Rag
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Pavanne
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
Lux Aurumque
Russian Christmas Music
The Stars and Stripes Forever

About 40 members of the band then attended a post-concert get-together meal at Falmouth’s Portland Pie Company.

Many thanks to Falmouth High School, its band director for not only hosting the concert, but also two preparatory rehearsals in the FHS band room, the auditorium tech staff, and the custodial staff.

The Maine Pops will begin rehearsals for its 2024 Spring Concert on Wednesday, January 24, returning to our Scarborough High School "home" for a two-hour session beginning at 7 p.m.

(Photos by Steve Barrett and Arthur McClanahan.)

2023-12-20 Maine Pops Concert Band Christmas Benefit Concert at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland

he Maine Pops Concert Band concluded its Christmas holiday benefit concert series tonight with a performance at St. Luke’s Cathedral on State Street in Portland, ME.

A very large crowd attended the 90-minute performance which also included a 15-minute prelude by the band’s flute choir. The band performed the following compositions:

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
A Fireside Christmas
Bashana Haba ‘ah
Brazilian Sleigh Bells
Lux Aurumque
Pat-a-Pan
Winter Rhapsody
Sleigh Ride
Gesu Bambino
Still, Still, Still
Christmas Music for Winds
Hallelujah Chorus.

The band will now take a two-week break and resume rehearsals on Wednesday, January 10 at 7 p.m. The location will be determined soon, as Scarborough High School will be conducting their winter band concert that evening.

(Photos by Steve Barrett.)

2023-12-13 Mountainside Community Church Holiday Benefit Concert

The first of two holiday benefit concerts is complete – a very successful performance by the Maine Pops Concert Band at Mountainside Community Church in Falmouth, Maine.

A very large audience jammed the pews inside the church sanctuary to hear the Maine Pops perform the following holiday compositions:

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
A Fireside Christmas
Bashana Haba ‘ah
Brazilian Sleigh Bells
Lux Aurumque
Pat-a-Pan
Sleigh Ride
Gesu Bambino
Still, Still, Still
Christmas Music for Winds
Hallelujah Chorus

In addition, Mountainside pastor Mac Ray announced that the audience raised nearly $1000 to support the Falmouth Food Pantry – a donation matched by Mountainside for a $2000 total donation.

The band will have their final holiday concert of 2023 on Wednesday, December 20, at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland, beginning at 7 p.m. Prior to the concert, the band’s flute choir will perform ensemble work around 6:45 p.m.

(Photos by Steve Barrett)

Maine Pops Concert Band Announces its 2023 Holiday Concert Schedule

The Maine Pops Concert Band – serving communities in the greater Portland area – has announced its concert schedule for the 2023 holiday season.

The band will hold its first holiday concert at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 13 at the Mountainside Community Church, located at 18 Mountain Road in Falmouth, ME. The event continues a long tradition of holiday concerts between the Maine Pops and the church and proceeds from the Mountainside performance will go to humanitarian efforts in the Portland region.

Band Pops Conductor David Watts has selected the following music for the Mountainside concert:
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
A Fireside Christmas
Bashana Haba ‘ah
Brazilian Sleigh Bells
Lux Aurumque
Pat-a-Pan
Winter Rhapsody
Sleigh Ride
Gesu Bambino
Still, Still, Still
Christmas Music for Winds
Hallelujah Chorus

The December 13 concert will have a livestream available through the Mountainside Community Church. The link to the livestream is https://youtube.com/live/nWsI106MeX0?feature=share and will start at 6:45 p.m.

On December 20, the band will return to St. Luke’s Cathedral, located at 143 State Street in Portland, for its final holiday benefit concert. The performance – also slated for 7 p.m. – is also an annual event on the Maine Pops calendar. As with the Mountainside performance, proceeds are going to the church’s humanitarian efforts in and around the Portland area.