WeStar 2023 New Year Musical Night

 

WeStar New Year Musical Night
Cary Memorial Hall, Lexington, Massachusetts

WeStar 2023 New Year Musical Night

Sunday Jan 8th @ 6:30 pm

Cary Memorial Hall, Lexington

Organized and sponsored by Wayou Education Group, WeStar Music and International Culture and Education Promotion Association, and sponsored by Dreamega Realty, the WeStar 2023 New Year Musical Night will feature the Concord Band performing holiday songs including the Radetzky March. There are also wonderful feature performances by world-renowned pianists, top accordion performing artists, erhu masters, sublime vocalists, pop singers, and Boston's outstanding dance troupes! This musical feast will commemorate the passing year, renew hope, and send our audience joyously into the new year!

Tickets at the door are $40 for adults and $25 for seniors and teenagers.
For discounted tickets visit https://westaracademy.com/concerts
and use Concord Band code TCB01

LiveStream: 2022 Holiday Pops!

Link to program

Holiday Pops! Program

Holiday Pops!

Saturday, December 10, 2022 • 8:00 PM
The Concord Band
James O’Dell, Music Director
Steve Barbas, Assistant Conductor

Prelude

Clarinet Ensemble

James Dorney, Emily Ferrara, David Gaylin,
Jeff Leiserson, Karen Whitehead, Yvonne Wilson

Program
The Concord Band
Overture to a Winter Festival	James Curnow
Greensleeves; A Symphonic Setting	C.T. Smith
Toboggan	JaRod Hall
Gabriel's Oboe	E. Morricone arr. Robert Longfield
Richard Given, trumpet
Gaudete	Brian Beck
Intermission
Midnight Sleigh Ride	E. Sauter and W. Finegan arr. Tom Wallace
Concerto for Trumpet	Johann Hummel arr. John Corley
Richard Given, trumpet
Carol of the Drum	K. Davis arr. Floyd Werle
Chanukah is Here	Traditional arr. Custer
It's Christmas	arr. Warren Barker
Kathryn Denney, song leader
Jingle Bells, O Come All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Deck the Halls, Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Sleigh Ride	Leroy Anderson
Auld Lang Syne	arr. William Toland

Trumpet Soloist Richard Given

Richard Given
Trumpet

A native of New England, Richard Given attended the Eastman School of Music and earned a Diploma in Trumpet Performance from the New England Conservatory. While at NEC, Mr. Given studied trumpet with the legendary Roger Voisin. In his final year at the Conservatory, Mr. Given won the Principal Trumpet position with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Mr. Given returned to Boston and started a free-lance career that continues today. He was Principal Trumpet for the Boston Classical Orchestra for 20 years and has performed with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Opera, Boston Ballet, Colorado Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony, Vermont Symphony, New Hampshire Symphony and numerous other New England orchestras. In addition, as a member of the Cantabrigia Brass Quintet, he performed over 1,500 school concerts sponsored by the Young Audiences of Massachusetts organization.

Mr. Given has spent the last 30+ years playing Broadway shows in the pit orchestras of the Schubert, Colonial and Wang Center Theatres in downtown Boston. He played National Broadway tours of “Sweeney Todd”, “Pirates of Penzance”, “42nd Street” and “Les Miserables”. Mr. Given has also played in the orchestras of numerous entertainers, including: Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Three Irish Tenors, Mannheim Steamroller, Jethro Tull, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Perry Como, Patti Page, Wayne Newton, Johnny Mathis, and an endless list of others. His very first “professional gig” was with Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross!

Concord Tree Lighting Street Festival and Parade

Concord Band's small ensembles will be performing as part of the Concord Tree Lighting festivities. Drop by 51 Walden for refreshments and entertainment!

2:40-3:00 pm		Flute Duet
3:00-3:30 pm		Brass Quartet
4:10-4:30 pm		Saxophone Duet
4:30-4:50 pm		Clarinet Choir

All are welcome at the Town of Concord's Annual Tree Lighting. This year's event will be host to a variety of outdoor entertainment, a parade and festive store fronts. Santa will make his way down Main Street aboard one of Concord's Fire Trucks to light the Town Tree.

Date: December 4, 2022
Time: 3:00PM-6:00PM

fmi: Concord Recreation Department, Living Concord

Holiday Pops 2022

Holiday Pops 2022 Poster

The Concord Band will perform traditional holiday favorites and  new songs for the season.
Refreshments provided at a post-concert reception.
If you cannot join us in person, enjoy the livestream.

Link to Livestream Sat Dec 10 @ 8pm

Livestream: RVW 150

Link to Program

RVW 150

Fall Concert

Saturday, October 22, 2022 • 8:00 PM

James O’Dell, Music Director

Steven Barbas, Assistant Conductor

Cindy Blanchard, Guest Conductor

Program

The Concord Band
Flourish for Wind Band	Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Lords of Greenwich	Robert Sheldon
Greensleeves: A Symphonic Setting	Claude T. Smith
English Folk Song Suite	Ralph Vaughan Williams
Steven Barbas, conducting
March. “Seventeen Come Sunday” Intermezzo. “My Bonny Boy” March. “Folk Songs from Somerset”
Intermission
CB Saxophone Quartet
David Southard: soprano, John Rabinowitz: alto, Judy Piermarini: tenor, Seychelle Corbin: baritone
Rhosymedre	Ralph Vaughan Williams arr. Donald Fabian
Minuet from Le Tombeau de Couperin	Maurice Ravel arr. Christoph Enzel
The Concord Band
Fugue à La Gigue	J. S. Bach arr. Gustav Holst and Michael Brand
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis	Ralph Vaughan Williams arr. Jay Bocook
Cindy Blanchard, conducting
A Moorside Suite	Gustav Holst arr. Denis Wright
Scherzo Nocturne March

Guest Conductor Cindy Blanchard

Cindy Blanchard

Cindy Blanchard earned her BA in Music Performance and Composition from Bowdoin College. Her mentor was Elliott Schwartz, a life-long researcher of Vaughan Williams. She earned her MA from The College of New Jersey and Juilliard, studying conducting and trumpet. Ms. Blanchard has been a freelance musician and music educator on the east coast for nearly 30 years, teaching bands, strings, choral groups and general music to students ranging in age from 3 to the 80’s. She founded the Intergenerational Band and Harwich Community Orchestra (now the Cape Cod Community Orchestra) and the Cape Cod Brass. She has been a member of the Concord Band since 2011. Other interests are composing, genealogy and art.

Flourish for Wind Band

Flourish for Wind Band was written as an overture to the pageant Music and the People, performed in the Royal Albert Hall in 1939. The score was then lost, only to reappear in 1971. It was not made available to American bands until it was published in 1972. Flourish for Wind Band followed on the heels of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ great masterworks for band, English Folk Song Suite and Toccata Marziale, and is significant, in part, because it is a relatively easy work (grade 3), by a composer of high stature and skill. (Source: Creekside Middle School Wind Symphony concert program)

The Lords of Greenwich

Written in the style of an authentic British folk tune, Robert Sheldon's The Lords of Greenwich is an original composition inspired by the music of Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. A jaunty theme greets the listener at the outset of the piece, followed by a lyrical and expressive ballad. A brief transition culminates in a musical statement that recalls the music of a British military brass band, which is then accompanied by the original thematic material bringing the piece to a definitive conclusion. (Source: Publisher)

Greensleeves: A Symphonic Setting

One of the most enduring melodies of all time has been sensitively arranged by the incomparable talent Claude T. Smith. Greensleeves: A Symphonic Setting presents intriguing combinations of wind colors and contrapuntal textures to make this the most unusual setting ever written for band. (Source: Publisher)

English Folk Song Suite

This beloved suite for military band, English Folk Song Suite, was premiered in 1923 and originally included a fourth movement, “Sea Songs.” After the premiere, “Sea Songs” was removed from the Suite and used as a standalone piece by the same name. Percy Grainger and Ralph Vaughan Williams collected the majority of the folk songs that were used as the inspiration of this work between 1906 and 1909. Along with Broadwood and Sharp, they carefully transcribed both text/lyric and tune of the songs sung by rural singers. Some were also recorded on wax cylinders, many of which still exist, though in poor condition due to the delicate nature of such recordings. There was a bit of a difference of opinion between Broadwood, who wanted to painstakingly note every nuance, every detail of each song to make sure the music was captured as exactly as possible, and Sharp’s opinion that many of these singers were aged and that time was of the essence in capturing as many of these tunes as possible. This came into play especially regarding lyrics as some did not meet the moral values of the day and revisions were thought to be appropriate. Vaughan Williams saw the value in both perspectives.

This Folk Song Suite has three movements. Movement I begins with the sprightly “Seventeen Come Sunday” which leads to the more legato melody of “Pretty Caroline,” with simple yet beautiful orchestration of these tunes. “Dives and Lazarus” is then heard in the basses as a countermelody before reprising the opening theme. The Intermezzo, Movement II, features “Green Bushes” and “My Bonny Boy,” and opens with a lovely oboe solo in the Dorian mode. Motifs found in “My Bonny Boy” are swapped around the band before entering the lively melody of “Green Bushes” before “My Bonny Boy” repeats, bringing the movement to a quiet close. Movement III opens with the light-hearted “Blow Away the Morning Dew” played by a clarinet solo and answered by the whole ensemble. The juxtaposition of the trumpet fanfare and basses playing “High Germany” centers the next section which then reverts to the opening theme. “John Barleycorn” is carried by the trombones and basses, and the trumpets then enter above before the final chord. (Source: Cindy Blanchard)

Rhosymedre

In 1920, Ralph Vaughan Williams composed three preludes for organ based on Welsh hymn tunes, a set that quickly established itself in the organ repertoire. Of the three, Rhosymedre, sometimes known as “Lovely,” has become the most popular. The hymn tune used in this prelude was written by a 19th century Welsh composer, J.D. Edwards, and is a very simple melody made up almost entirely of scale tones and upbeat skips of a fourth. (Source: Walter Beeler). The arrangement for saxophone quartet is provided by Donald Fabian.

"Minuet" from Le Tombeau de Couperin

"Minuet" is the fifth movement from Le Tombeau de Couperin, a suite by Maurice Ravel. Originally a piano composition, Ravel himself orchestrated it later. Each of the six movements is dedicated to a friend who died in World War I. The arrangement for saxophone quartet is provided by Christoph Enzel. (Source: John Rabinowitz)

Fugue à La Gigue

When Gustav Holst was commissioned to write Hammersmith for the BBC Wireless Military Band in 1928, he felt rather out of practice in orchestrating for the medium. For some years he had had the idea of arranging some Bach fugues for brass and military band, so he set himself the task of scoring the Organ Fugue in G Major BWV 577 (from Preludes, Fugues and Fantasias). Holst, rather than Bach, called it Fugue à La Gigue. The piece made an ideal exercise and Holst’s brilliant dovetailing of the counterpoint between different instruments shows his mastery. The piece is technically demanding and the characteristic unison clarinet writing suggests the orchestral conception of a large wind ensemble rather than a band. It was this conception which the composer carried forward into Hammersmith. (Source: Publisher)

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis combines the simple, elegant thematic material of the Elizabethan church composer Tallis, expanded and modernized through the luxurious harmonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams. A setting for band has been long overdue, and the original work for string orchestra has been masterfully transformed into a magnificent setting for winds. (Source: J.W. Pepper)

A Moorside Suite

A Moorside Suite is a masterpiece of Gustav Holst’s maturity. Written in 1928, six years before his death, it achieves a synthesis of his creative talent as a composer with the strong folk-song influences of 20 years earlier. The title of the work alludes to a country setting but does not describe an exact location, and this is mirrored in the musical material. The folk-song influence is apparent but not overt. The work was originally for brass band, commissioned for the National Brass Band Championships held at the Crystal Palace, London, England. Denis Wright was a musical scholar, and the transcription was carried out either during Holst's lifetime or shortly after his death in 1934. The score was not published until 1983, and has been re-edited by Geoffrey Brand. Interestingly, Holst himself always intended the work to be transcribed for “Military Band” and a first movement and some bars of the second movement exist in manuscript in the British Library. (Source: Publisher)

Celebrating Ralph Vaughan Williams

2022 Fall Concert Poster

The Concord Band opens its 2022–2023 season with a concert themed RVW150 in honor of the 150th birthday of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The concert will be held at 8:00 pm Saturday October 22, 2022 at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center in Concord, presented by Music Director James O’Dell and guest conductors from within the Concord Band.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, an influential English composer, wrote seminal works for twentieth-century concert band. Throughout his career Vaughan Williams drew inspiration from English folk tunes and hymn songs.

A highlight of the program will be Vaughan Williams’ English Folksong Suite led by Assistant Conductor Steven Barbas. This piece is considered to be the first composition written expressly for military band (the English term for a band including woodwinds as well as brass), which has become a staple of the concert band literature. Trumpeter and music educator Cindy Blanchard will appear as Guest Conductor to perform the beautiful Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, originally written for orchestra and arranged for band by Jay Bocook. The CB Saxophone Quartet will play Vaughan Williams’ Rhosymedre, a prelude based on the Welsh hymn tune by J. D. Edwards. The Quartet will also play "Minuet" from Le Tombeau de Couperin Suite by Maurice Ravel, with whom Vaughan Williams studied in Paris.

Composer Gustav Holst was a lifelong friend of Vaughan Williams since the age of 21. They traveled the English countryside on walking treks, conducted a concert together, and Holst dedicated one of his pieces to Vaughan Williams. Both composers incorporated folk songs into their music. The program features two selections by Holst. His Moorside Suite was originally written for brass band and is arranged for concert band by Denis Wright. Holst’s Fugue a La Gigue was a brass band transcription of Bach’s Fugue in G Major for organ, later arranged for concert band by Michael Brand. Two American composers who pay homage to Vaughan Williams will round out the program with Greensleeves: a Symphonic Setting by Claude T. Smith, and the Lords of Greenwich by Robert Shelton.

Join the Concord Band to celebrate Vaughan Williams’ birthday and enjoy music evocative of the English countryside which inspired these composers. The concert is free with a suggested donation of $10 per person. If you cannot attend in person, the concert will be live streamed, and online donations are gratefully appreciated. Take advantage of this opportunity to hear live music again!

Fall Concert

Fall 2022 Concert Poster

The Concord Band joins orchestras and wind ensembles worldwide throughout this year in preparing a concert celebrating the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams, with a theme titled RVW150. The program will feature masterworks of Vaughan Williams' and his contemporaries. The concert will be presented at 8 pm on Saturday October 22, 2022 at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center in Concord.

Two members of the Band will also perform as Guest Conductors. Assistant Conductor Steve Barbas will present the iconic English Folksong Suite,trumpeter and music educator Cindy Blanchard will conduct the hauntingly lovely Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. The CB Saxophone Quartet will also play a Vaughan Williams selection.

Admission to the concert is free; a suggested donation of $10 is appreciated. Take advantage of this opportunity to hear live music!

2022–2023 Concert Season

Concord Band 2022–23 Concert Season

Community bands are back after being battered by the pandemic

The Metropolitan Atlanta Community Band
is gearing up for its first concert in more than two years.

September 8, 2022
on NPR's Morning Edition

Community bands date back to the American Revolution. The Association of Concert Bands estimates that there are more than 1,000 of them around the country. Several have been playing since the 19th Century, including The Allentown Band in Pennsylvania, which began in 1828. The pandemic has battered these amateur bands but they're getting back to performing, especially after Labor Day.

Read and listen to full article.

Summer Series Returns on Wednesday Evenings

Summer Concerts with the Concord Band

Now on Wednesdays, this summer the Concord Band returns to the Fruitlands Summer Stage! 

Gather on the lawn for a picnic concert with stunning sunset views. The Concord Band will treat concert-goers to a fun roster of timeless music, including pieces memorializing historic events, show tunes, holiday favorites and more. Concerts begin at 7:15 pm.

• June 22 – Musical Road Trip
• June 29 – Spectacular Broadway
• July   6 – America Celebrates
• July 13 – Summer Retrospective

QR Code for pre-registration.

Bring your blanket, lawn chairs and picnic basket. There is plenty of room on the concert lawn to spread out. Dogs are welcome to join for these picnic concerts and just must remain on leash while on the grounds at Fruitlands. Gates Open 5:00 pm.

Pre-registration is recommended for faster entry. In the event of rain forcing cancelation, all ticket holders will be contacted via email in advance of showtime. We will be able to rebook or refund any cancelled sales. 

Questions? Contact Catherine Shortliffe at cshortliffe@thetrustees.org

Picnic in the Park

Picnic in the Park is a great day for Concordians as well as people from surrounding towns, with an estimated 3,000 people participating throughout the day. The Picnic is a lovely family time, with entertainment provided for both children and adults. This year a special children’s entertainment show in the Hunt Gym for the children will feature the very exciting Tanglewood Marionettes, a real favorite from prior Picnics. Field games and rides in a hot air balloon will, as always, be there for all to enjoy. The Concord Fire Department and Concord Police Department will jump in to help with demonstrations of the “Fire House”, all of this accompanied by the sounds of various musical groups and with the traditional finale by our own Concord Band.

10:00–12:00

RE/MAX Balloon (wind permitting)

11:30

Parade & Picnic Opening

12:00–1:00

Rockabye Beats

12:00–3:00

Henna & Glitter Tattoos

12:30–1:30

Field Games

1:00–4:00

Roaming Railroad

1:00–3:00

Balloon Twisting

1:30–3:00

Southern Rail Band

2:00

Flying High Dogs

3:15–4:30

The Concord Band

Summer Concert Series

2022 Summer Season Poster

The Concord Band returns to the Fruitlands Summer Stage on Wednesday evenings. Concerts begin at 7:15PM, Gates Open 5:00pm

Gather on the lawn for a picnic concert with stunning sunset views. The Concord Band will treat concert-goers to a fun roster of timeless music, including pieces memorializing historic events, show tunes, holiday favorites and more.

Bring your blanket, lawn chairs and picnic basket. There is plenty of room on the concert lawn to spread out. Dogs are welcome to join for these picnic concerts and just must remain on leash while on the grounds at Fruitlands.

The audience is encouraged to Pre-register for quicker entry. In the event of rain forcing cancellation, all ticket holders will be contacted via email in advance of showtime. We will be able to rebook or refund any cancelled sales. Questions? Contact Catherine Shortliffe.

Summer 2022 Schedule Update

Sunset as the Concord Band performs at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Mass.

Summer Concert Series at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts.

From classical to pop, jazz to Dixieland, familiar favorites, and well-known gems, the hills of the Fruitlands Museum will once again come alive with music! Don't miss this special opportunity to pack a picnic dinner, support live music, Fruitlands Museum, and the many talented musicians of the Concord Band.

• June 22 · Musical Road Trip
• June 29 · Spectacular Broadway
• July  6 · America Celebrates
• July 13 · Summer Retrospective

Note the new concert series is changed to Wednesday evenings!

Spring Pops Live Stream

Spring Pops!

Saturday, April 9, 2022 • 8:00 PM
Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden
Concord, Massachusetts

The Concord Band

James O'Dell, Music Director
Roger Cichy, Guest Conductor
Cindy Scott, Guest Artist
Gray Sargent, Guest Artist

Watch Live Saturday April 9, 8:00 pm

Program

The Concord Band
James O'Dell conducting
Strike Up The Band	George and Ira Gershwin arr. Leonard Moss
Irving Berlin's Songs For America	Irving Berlin arr. James Swearingen
The Diamond Baton	Roger Daniel Cichy
In honor of Daniel S. Diamond for his service to The Concord Band
Live Premiere, conducted by the composer
The Lords of Greenwich	Robert Sheldon
Sinatra in Concert	arr. Jerry Nowak
Intermission
CB Saxophone Quartet
David Southard, soprano; John Rabinowitz, alto; Judy Piermarini, tenor; Seychelle Dunn-Corbin, baritone
St. Louis Blues (1914)	W.C. Handy arr. Ken Abeling
Waltz for Debby (1956)	Bill Evans arr. Steve Piermarini
Nina Never Knew (1952)	Louis Alter & Milton Drake arr. Steve Piermarini
"Swing" from Diffusion for Saxophone Quartet (2006)	Gordon Goodwin
The Concord Band
*Featuring Cindy Scott, jazz vocalist
Italian Rhapsody	Julie Giroux
S’Wonderful*	George and Ira Gershwin arr. Warren Barker
Cry Me A River*	Arthur Hamilton arr. Bert van Cruchten
Night and Day*	Cole Porter arr. William McManus
Intermission
Cindy Scott–Gray Sargent Duo
Selections to be announced from stage
The Concord Band
They All Laughed*	George and Ira Gershwin arr. William McManus
New York State of Mind*	Billy Joel arr. Phil Whittall
Cheek to Cheek*	Irving Berlin arr. Jerry Seeco
Ukrainian National Anthem	Mykhailo Verbytsky arr. US Army Band
Stars and Stripes Forever	John Phillip Sousa

Meet the CB Saxophone Quartet

CB Saxophone Quartet
(left to right) David Southard, Judy Piermarni, Seychelle Dunn-Corbin, John Rabinowitz

The Concord Band's Spring Pops concerts will feature the saxophone section performing as the CB Saxophone Quartet. Since the pandemic restricted large group rehearsals, beginning in 2021 the saxophone section stepped forward to perform as a small ensemble. They performed at the Hastings Park Gazebo in Lexington, the Fruitlands Museum amphitheater in Harvard, and at the Center for Performing Arts in Concord.

There is something about a saxophone quartet that exceeds listeners' expectations. The timbre of voices, ranging from baritone at the low end, through tenor and alto to soprano, lends a breadth and depth of tonality that evokes the finest choral ensembles. The repertoire spans multiple musical styles. The quartet is equally at home performing chamber music, classical transcriptions, modern compositions as well as renditions of ragtime, jazz and popular songs. Performances are varied, dynamic, and exciting.

Collectively, members of the CB Saxophone Quartet represent well over a century of making music, and they are using that experience to dazzle local audiences.

Seychelle Dunn-Corbin
baritone saxophone

Seychelle Dunn-Corbin, baritone saxophone, is a Boston-based saxophonist known for her inclusion, dedication, and advocacy of African American artistry in performance and education. Seychelle is an alumna of Morgan State University; a Historical Black College. She furthered her education at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge studying with classical saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky, and in 2019 completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Saxophone Performance from Boston University. Seychelle worked in education for the Baltimore Public School system, and as faculty at Bunker Hill Community College and Salem State University. Currently, Seychelle performs with the Area 9 Saxophone Quartet, NorthStar Duo, and Megalopolis Saxophone Orchestra.

Judy Piermarini
tenor saxophone

Judy Piermarini, tenor saxophone, is a former music educator earning her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Lowell. Prior to that she was Salutatorian of her high school graduating class. She is a 30 year veteran of the late Artie Barsamian Boston Big Band, recording 3 CDs. She has also been a member of the Leominster Colonial Band for the past 40 years, recording 1 CD, "Number 17 !".  Judy is married to trombonist Steve, and the proud mother of two amazing adult children, John and Amy. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, having pet dogs and cats, traveling, reading, walking, knitting and donating blood. She has also played in various theatre pit orchestras, star shows, concert bands, and sung alto in three church choirs. Presently, Judy is employed by the United States Postal Service and is looking forward to retirement soon. Judy joined the Concord Band shortly after moving to Acton, because she loves to play the tenor saxophone and was looking for a local concert band to perform in as music provides her a great sense of purpose and joy. She has been a member for 28 years and is still in a quest to find the perfect reed!

John Rabinowitz
alto saxophone

John Rabinowitz, alto saxophone, and has studied classical saxophone with Ken Radnofsky at the Longy School and the New England Conservatory, and jazz performance with Mark Phaneuf at the New School of Music in Cambridge. John is a founding member of the Area 9 Quartet, an ensemble dedicated to exploring diverse and ever-growing chamber music repertoire for saxophone, and also performs with the Charles River Wind Ensemble. John has been an active music educator in greater Boston since 1999. John maintained a private piano studio focused on classical repertoire and pedagogy through 2015, and has been teaching saxophone both online and in person since 2018. As a member of the Board of Trustees of the Boston Woodwind Society, John has co-sponsored a series of saxophone master classes for the benefit of students at the New England Conservatory and Boston University. A native of Nutley, New Jersey, John earned a BA in American History from Harvard College. He currently resides in Arlington. Since joining the ensemble in 2012, John has relished his experience with the Concord Band, and has grown both as an individual player and as a musical collaborator. John has served on the Board of Trustees since 2013.

David Southard
soprano saxophone

David Southard performs on soprano saxophone in the quartet and alto saxophone with the Band. He began music lessons on his family’s spinet organ in elementary school, switched to saxophone in middle school, and studied clarinet in college. He has enjoyed performing in concert bands, big bands, as well as musical theatre and jazz ensembles. Since emigrating from California and joining the Concord Band in 1988, David has performed as soloist on tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, as well as serving as Treasurer on the Board of Trustees. David earned a doctorate in computer science from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and works at MedAcuity LLC, Westford, as a software consultant for the medical devices industry. David resides in Bedford with his spouse, Tina. His three children are Nox, a student at John Glenn Middle School, Noah, a student at Temple University, and Kaden, a researcher at Sloan Kettering Institute, NYC. As a self-ascribed saxophone nerd, David's quest is to find the ultimate mouthpiece!

CB Saxophone Quartet Performances

PRISMS 2 (October 23, 2021)
Holiday Pops (December 11, 2021)

Special Guest Artist Gray Sargent

Gray Sargent
Jazz Guitarist

The Concord Band is delighted that jazz guitarist Gray Sargent, who starred with legendary singer Tony Bennett for many years, will perform as a duo with Cindy Scott at our Spring Pops concerts on April 8 and 9. This performance is not to be missed!

By Mark Gorman in Newport this Week

When internationally renowned guitarist Gray Sargent was just 7-years-old in Attleboro, Massachusetts, his mom started him on the living room piano. By the time he was 11, the family had moved to New Jersey and Sargent took up the guitar. Like millions of young people in the 1960s, he was wowed by The Beatles and learned to play many of their tunes. “I played in a band at 12, and we played lots of Beatles’ tunes,” he said. “We loved The Beach Boys, The Beatles and the [surf rock sound of] The Ventures.”

When he moved to Weston, Massachusetts, and attended high school, his older brother started taking him to a small club to listen to music, and it was a turning point in the young guitarist’s life. Sargent moved away from rock-and-roll and found his niche in jazz and blues.

“We started seeing all the great jazz and blues guys in that tiny club,” he said. “We saw Muddy Waters, Dizzy Gillespie, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield, Buddy Rich and Thelonious Monk, among others.” In the 1970s and ’80s, Sargent played and toured extensively with the great jazz tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet. After that, he stayed close to home, playing local gigs with the likes of Herb Pomeroy, Dick Johnson and Dave McKenna, and was also called upon to play when some of the greats like Gillespie, Phil Woods, Chet Baker or Marshall Wood rolled into town.

“I was playing some gigs in New York and Boston with [pianist] Dave McKenna and the great singer Donna Byrne,” he said. “Tony Bennett was a big fan of both of them, so he showed up at three of our gigs within a six-month period. Then, two years later, Tony’s road manager called me and asked me to join Tony’s group. The manager said, ‘Tony’s been talking about you for two years.’” Sargent was a member of the Tony Bennett Quartet for 24 years including Bennett's final performances with Lady Gaga.

When’s he not traveling the world or recording with Bennett, Sargent enjoys playing local jazz gigs. Hearing Sargent play is a delightful treat as he weaves his tasteful solos and chord melodies. It’s pure heaven and you’ll be hearing the best of the best.

Spotlight: Jazz Vocalist Cindy Scott

Guest Artist Cindy Scott
jazz vocalist

Cindy Scott is a passionate, risk-taking heart-singer who isn’t afraid to reveal her emotions in song. Cindy has walked a different path from the average jazz singer. Born and raised in a house full of music and musicians, she chose flute as her first instrument and went to LSU on a music scholarship. Uncertain about life as a professional musician but positive she wanted to travel the world, Cindy got an MBA, learned to speak German and Spanish, and spent several years living and working abroad. During one of these stints she discovered jazz and began singing in the jazz cellars of Germany with local musicians.

Cindy eventually found herself in Houston climbing the corporate ladder by day and playing jazz clubs by night. In 2005, she traded a successful business career for a life devoted to music and moved to New Orleans just months before Hurricane Katrina hit. She decided to return and complete her Masters in Music (Jazz Studies) from the University of New Orleans, a program founded by famed educator Ellis Marsalis and now led by guitar icon Steve Masakowski. She is now firmly rooted in the rich and diverse music scene of the Crescent City.

Cindy has found a happy marriage between her straight-ahead roots and the musical gumbo that pervades New Orleans. She always sings music she connects with, whether jazz standards, unexpected genre-bending choices, or her own originals. Her last CD, Let the Devil Take Tomorrow, was voted New Orleans’ Best Contemporary Jazz Recording, a huge honor in a field that included projects by Christian Scott and Donald Harrison. The recording was also listed in Offbeat Magazine’s top 40 Louisiana releases in all genres.

Guest Artist Cindy Scott
jazz vocalist

March 2014 welcomed Cindy's latest studio recording entitled Historia. Her amazing band includes pianist Randy Porter, bassist Dan Loomis, drummer Jamison Ross, along with Brian Seeger on guitar, Evan Christopher on clarinet, and Shannon Powell on tambourine. Four-time GRAMMY nominee jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson makes a special appearance on two tracks, as well. The recording, which is a blend of jazz standards and Cindy's original songwriting, pays homage to her deep musical roots, the lessons she learned from her family, and the discoveries she's made along the way throughout her own life. In his review of Historia, C. Michael Bailey (All About Jazz) says Scott's new CD is "all that jazz is."

Cindy plays regularly in New Orleans and has had recent performances in Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Mexico, as well as in US cities including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Kansas City. She has appeared at festivals around the world, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival.

fmi: http://www.cindyscottmusic.com/

Live Premiere of The Diamond Baton

Roger Cichy
Composer and Guest Conductor

Editor's note: The Diamond Baton will at last receive its Live Premiere at our Spring Pops concerts, 8pm on Friday and Saturday, April 8 & 9, 2022, after a postponement of two years due to the pandemic. We offer a reprise of this feature article (originally posted December 7, 2020) to share some of our excitement for this composition, and we invite you to join us to hear it person.

The Concord Band would like to announce a special project the Band has been doing to help keep its spirits (and lips) up and that will provide a lasting memento of The Concord Band. We originally announced plans to commission a new march in honor of its longest serving member, Dan Diamond, which was to be premiered at the April Pops concerts in 2020. Roger Cichy, who over the past 10 years has composed two pieces for The Concord Band, provided The Diamond Baton for the Band’s March 9 rehearsal, just before the pandemic shutdown changed all our plans. Since we were unable to rehearse together as a large ensemble, we had to explore other creative options to perform this piece virtually. We look forward to playing it live whenever we can resume live performances.

Richard Given and Roger Cichy
during recording sessions.

Roger Cichy wrote The Diamond Baton in recognition of Dan Diamond’s 50 years of service to The Concord Band. In addition to being the percussion section leader, Dan has been a board member for more than 45 years, headed fundraising, managed the newsletter, and countless other voluntary contributions to The Concord Band. Roger regretted that the march had only one rehearsal and was never able to be performed. As fall 2020 approached, Roger reached out to Jim O’Dell and volunteered to bring his professional recording equipment to Concord to record each interested player. Using a computer-generated “click-track” recording of the march, 40 Concord Band members learned their parts and one at a time came to 51 Walden to play The Diamond Baton for a socially-distanced Roger Cichy. An additional 7 players made their own recordings which they provided to Cichy. Roger combined and edited the individual recordings into the premiere recording of The Diamond Baton. Roger Cichy and Jim O’Dell did the final editing in Roger’s Scituate, Rhode Island studio. The Concord Band is eternally grateful to Roger for his yeoman efforts and thrilled to honor their fellow bandsman Dan Diamond.

The resulting audio premiere of The Diamond Baton is at this link:

Jim O'Dell and Roger Cichy
crafting the final mix.

The Diamond Baton recording project at 51 Walden is extraordinary because it is the first time many of the Concord Band members experienced playing their part accompanied by a digital audio click track. Musicians typically spend the majority of their time in ensembles listening and adjusting to others, watching and receiving instructions from the conductor, marking the music, tuning and balancing across all instruments, and a multitude of other tasks including those that engage the ears, eyes, breath, and fingers. The challenge of playing a part "solo" in absence of many of the skills mentioned above is very foreign to most musicians, but the Concord Band musicians embraced the challenge with flying colors. Our final mix of the project truly trumpets (pun intended) our members' courage and commitment to bring a premiere of this new composition to fruition during uncertain times. Congratulations to all in making The Diamond Baton come to life!

Spring Pops 2022 Poster

Spring Pops 2022 Poster

The Concord Band’s Spring Pops concerts will be held at 8:00 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings, April 8 and 9, 2022, at the Center for Performing Arts at 51 Walden, Concord MA.

Jazz singer Cindy Scott, in her debut performance with the Concord Band, is a New Orleans style jazz singer who received a music degree from Louisiana State University and was the winner of the 2010 Best of the Beat Award for "Best Contemporary Jazz Record." In addition to being accompanied by the Band, Cindy will sing in a duo with Special Guest Artist, world-renowned guitarist Gray Sargent.

A new march by noted composer Roger Cichy, titled The Diamond Baton, will at last receive its premiere live performance with Mr. Cichy as Guest Conductor. The composition was commissioned in honor of longtime board member and percussionist, Dan Diamond, in recognition of 50 years of service to the Band.

The program will also feature the Concord Band Saxophone Quartet presenting for the first time delightful renditions of jazz standards by arranger Steve Piermarini, conductor of the Leominster Colonial Band.

Tickets for Friday's performance are available through the Rotary Club of Concord.

Admission to Saturday's concert is free and open to the public. Donations at the door and online are appreciated.

Watch Live Saturday April 9, 8:00 pm

Spring Pops with a Premiere

Cindy Scott
jazz vocalist

The Concord Band’s Spring Pops concerts will be held at 8:00 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings, April 8 and 9, 2022, at the Center for Performing Arts at 51 Walden, Concord MA.

Jazz singer Cindy Scott, in her debut performance with the Concord Band, is a New Orleans style jazz singer who received a music degree from Louisiana State University and was the winner of the 2010 Best of the Beat Award for "Best Contemporary Jazz Record."

A new march by noted composer Roger Cichy, titled The Diamond Baton, will at last receive its premiere live performance with Mr. Cichy as Guest Conductor. The composition was commissioned in honor of longtime board member and Notes editor, Dan Diamond, in recognition of 50 years of service to the Band.

The program will also feature the Concord Band Saxophone Quartet presenting for the first time delightful renditions of jazz standards by arranger Steve Piermarini, conductor of the Leominster Colonial Band.

Tickets for Friday's performance are available through the Rotary Club of Concord.

Admission to Saturday's concert is free and open to the public. Donations at the door and online are appreciated.

RVW 150 Concert Rescheduled

Although we are eagerly anticipating a resumption of rehearsals this week, it is not enough time to prepare for the concert that was originally scheduled for Saturday March 5th.

The Concord Band joins performing ensembles throughout the world commemorating Ralph Vaughan Williams 150th birthday: RVW 150. Our program celebrating the famed composer is rescheduled to 8pm, Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center.

Save the date!

Winter Concert Canceled

Due to COVID restrictions in Concord, our Winter Concert on March 5, 2022 has been canceled. The previously scheduled program celebrating the 150th anniversary of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (RVW150) will be performed at the Fall Concert on October 22, 2022 (which happens to be within two weeks of Vaughan Williams’ birthdate). We still plan to present Spring Pops on April 8 & 9, 2022,  with our partners the Rotary Club of Concord, who are celebrating their 90th anniversary. Music Director James O’Dell has confirmed an outstanding guest artist and an exciting music program. We expect to have additional updates from the Town of Concord in February and we will keep you informed of developments.