The Auburn Community Concert Band, under the direction of Milt Simon, will kick off its annual summer series of weekly outdoor evening concerts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7, at Festival Plaza in downtown Auburn. Submitted photo
The Auburn Community Concert Band, under the direction of Milt Simon, will kick off its annual summer series of weekly outdoor evening concerts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7, at Festival Plaza in downtown Auburn.
The performance is the first of 8 programs scheduled for this Main Street location. The free concerts will continue weekly on Wednesday evenings through Aug. 25 – weather permitting. There will be no rain location this summer. In the case of inclement weather, that evening’s concert will be cancelled, and an announcement will be posted on the band’s website at www.auburncommunityband.com.
“The upcoming concert season marks another return to normalcy,” according to Band Director Milt Simon. Last summer, COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the popular concerts, and marked the first time in 39 years the group was not seen performing each Wednesday evening in downtown Auburn. Last year was still recorded as our 39th season,” Simon stated, “because we held rehearsals starting in early January through mid-March. What made the season memorable, unfortunately, was the forced cancellation of all of our planned concerts.”
With the recent easing of COVID-related safety mandates, the group resumed its rehearsals on May 5th, with 34 out of the earlier 50 participants returning. This season’s volunteer musicians range in age from their mid-teens to their 80s and collectively represent a total of 12 central Maine communities.
Director Simon first organized the band in the Fall of 1981. Simon stated that the organization “gives many individuals a chance to utilize musical talents neglected since their high school days, and the entire community benefits.” He added that the Auburn group is still one of the larger community bands in the state of Maine, and their performances often attract audiences numbering 300 to 400 people.
Each Wednesday evening throughout July and August, the band will present a 75-minute program featuring popular hit songs from the 60’s through the present. Simon predicts that the group’s repertoire of songs will appeal to audiences of all ages. “If you have a favorite song that’s been heard on the radio or in the movies, chances are good that our band will perform it sometime during the upcoming 8-week concert series”, Simon said.
People planning to attend any of the Wednesday evening performances at Festival Plaza should bring their own chair on which to sit, and are advised to arrive well before the 7:00 p.m. concert start time, as large audiences are expected to return this summer. Ample free parking is available in the municipal parking garage located directly across the street from the Plaza.
For more information, visit the band’s web site at www.auburncommunityband.com.
The members of this summer’s concert band are:
FLUTE: Sharon Blodgett, Barbara Jabaut, Carrie Palmer, River Stickney, Jackie Woods
CLARINET: Kiani Camire, Denise Leavitt, Patti Pelletier, Rick Rau, Louise Theberge
BASSOON: Hayden Pelletier
ALTO SAXOPHONES: Steve Allman, Kerry Gould, David Griswold, Simone Haeusler
TENOR SAX: Angela Greenwald
BARITONE SAX: Jason Toussaint
TRUMPETS: Elliott Epstein, Jill Longstaff, Alisson Morin, Maurice Morin, Nancy Morris, Dan Simonitis
FRENCH HORN: Stephanie Burke
TROMBONES: Sonny Begin, Mark Jacobs, Chip Morrison, Tom Nelson
BARITONE: Hadley Blodgett
TUBAS: Joshua Hofferberth, Duncan Webster
PERCUSSION: Dan Leclair, David Leclair, Laurie Swart
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