MADISON, NJ - Community members are invited to attend the Summer Concert Series in Morris Plains where the Morris Plains Community Band will play throughout the month of August.
The concerts offer an opportunity for the public to hear and enjoy a true American tradition – the town band, consisting of friends and neighbors, performing a concert in the town park.
The concerts will take place on Wednesdays in August at 6:30pm at Roberts Garden Park at the corner of Glenbrook Road and Mountain Way. There is no indoor location in case of inclement weather, and there are no rain dates.
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Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy this truly American small town tradition.
The schedule is as follows:
On August 2nd, the MP Community Band will feature “Music of the Great American Composers”. Included will be works by John Williams, Richard Rogers, John Phillip Sousa, Henry Mancini, LeRoy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein and others. This concert will also feature the Morris Plains Community Choir, a 40-voice chorus made up of members of local church, temple and amateur community choirs. The choir will be joining us in performing several patriotic selections.
On August 9th, the traditional swing jazz big band, the “Swing Tones” will present “A Tribute to Glenn Miller”. The “Swing Tones” will also feature the vocal stylings of Mark Gold, who will perform songs made famous by Ray Eberle and Tex Beneke who sang with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
On August 16th, the MP Community Band will present “Music from Around the World”, featuring music by Grieg (Norway), Holst (Britain), Offenbach (France), Ravel (France), Rossini (Italy), Shostakovich (Russia), Strauss (Austria) and Tchaikovsky (Russia) among others.
On August 23th, the “Swing Tones” will present “The Count and The Duke”, a program of the 1930’s and 1940’s swing jazz of Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
On August 30th, the MP Community Band will present a program of music from the World War II years, featuring Big Band hits by Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Duke Elllington and Count Basie, as well as music by Frank Sinatra, Henry Mancini and others.
The Morris Plains Community Band, a “reincarnation” of the original Morris Plains Cornet Band which existed from 1888 to 1953, was re-established in October, 2015 and currently has over 60 members. As the band is a “no-commitment, no-obligation” volunteer organization, it normally features about 40 musicians at concerts. The band is made up of musicians ranging in age from 14 to 89, and includes middle and high school students, recent college graduates and older musicians, many of whom haven’t played since their own school days.
The Morris Plains Community Band is conducted by Larry Ripley, a retired musician and bandleader who is the third member of his family to lead a town band.
The band is an all-volunteer organization. If you would like to make a donation, please make your check payable to the Morris Plains Community Band, Inc., and mail it to the Morris Plains Community Band, Inc., P O Box 25, Morris Plains, NJ 07950. The Morris Plains Community Band is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Any donation is fully tax deductable as a charity contribution.
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