Concord Band Meritorious Service Award: Liz Irvin

Elizabeth "Liz" Irvin

At our Spring Pops concert, held April 11, 2026, Board President John Rabinowitz presented the Concord Band Meritorious Service Award. His remarks follow.

Elizabeth “Liz” Irvin joined the Concord Band in 2008 as a French horn player. Elected to the Board of Trustees in 2010, she served as Vice-President of the Board until 2016. Liz hosted board meetings at her home in Arlington, providing home cooked dinners for the Trustees. Liz also facilitated the use of conference calls, an innovation which led to the present day practice of virtual board meetings. While continuing to play the horn until 2019, Liz also served as the Band librarian until 2021. In that time Liz implemented a comprehensive reorganization of the music library, overhauled music storage, scanned parts and scores for digital archiving, and improved music distribution and collection. In addition, Liz helped start the Band’s weekly membership email ConChords, which she edited, served as the logistics “wrangler” for concerts at 51 Walden, and helped update the Band’s membership guide and Declaration of Trust. To celebrate her years of committed and innovative voluntarism, we are thrilled to present Liz Irvin with the first ever Meritorious Service Award of the Concord Band.

Spring Pops!

Saturday, April 11, 2026 • 7:00 PM
The Concord Band
James O'Dell, Music Director and conductor
John Rabinowitz, announcer

View Livestream

Program

The Spirit of '76	Clare Grundman
Lilly's Story	Luciano Lopez-Parnetti
World Premiere
New York: 1927	Warren Barker
Intermission
Amanda Carr, vocalist
Night and Day	Cole Porter arr. William McManus
Anything Goes	Cole Porter arr. Jeremy S. Martin
Maybe	words by Amanda Carr, music by Bevan Manson arr. William McManus
Why Don't You Do Right?	Joe McCoy arr. Billy May
New York State of Mind	Billy Joe trans. Whittall
Cheek to Cheek	Irving Berlin arr. Jerry Seeco

Spotlight: Guest Artist Amanda Carr

Amada Carr
jazz vocalist

Amanda Carr is a multi-faceted singer, musician, performer and writer who continues to creatively energize and inspire.

Born into family of musicians, Amanda’s long career has been about exploring music in a variety of environments and creating and performing cross-genres. Beginning as a rock singer/keyboard player in the nightclubs of Boston as a teenager, her love of popular music and singing cover songs laid the foundation for exploring other types of music.

After years of playing and singing rock and pop, Amanda delved into her ‘parents’’ music and began singing and recording the American Songbook which led to 5 albums and global performances and distribution. Her critical acclaim in the Wall Street Journal placed her among a bevy of notable jazz vocalists in the current media sphere.

Coupling her stage presence with hosting, Amanda performed with and then became the CBS radio color commentator for the prestigious nationally broadcast ‘July 4th Boston Pops on the Esplanade’. She continues to host other events and radio shows, including holding the Executive Director position at WICN Public Radio from 2017-2019.

Always inventing, collaborating and inspiring, Amanda enjoys coaching vocal students and crafting entertainment for private events offering a variety of live music and DJ services while still writing and composing for multiple media outlets and other artistic endeavors.