Summer Concert Series
Westfield Community Concert Band
The Westfield Community Concert Band, under the direction of Dr. Thomas Connors, continues its 111th season with its annual Summer Concert Series in Mindowaskin Park, East Broad Street, Westfield. The band will perform Thursday evening concerts on June 29, July 6 and 13. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free to the public.
Highlighting this season’s summer concerts will be a special Independence Day program taking place on June 29thfeaturing appearances by the Westfield Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Westfield Town Crier. The concert series will also include performances of selections from popular Broadway musicals, including The Music Man, Wicked, My Fair Lady, andPorgy and Bess. All of the band’s summer concerts will include popular marches, classical works and many patriotic compositions.
The band has been fortunate to welcome many new musicians this season, including Kyle Ora on saxophone, Tori Larsen on clarinet, Katelyn Morgan on oboe, Lisa Dubeck on French horn, Karen Zatz on French horn, Julia Duggan on piccolo, and Ann Pollack on clarinet. The band also welcomed the return of a few former members, including Ralph Ciotti on tuba and Michael Conway on euphonium. The band also welcomed the return of Dr. Theodore Schlosberg on euphonium. Dr. Schlosberg is a former conductor of the band, having served in that role from 1972 to 1978.
The band was also selected to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 12, 2023 as part of the 2023 Symphonic Series. The band performed the Robert Russell Bennet arrangement of Porgy and Bess Selection, by George Gershwin and An Irish Rhapsody, by Clare Grundman.
The band rehearses each Wednesday evening from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. in the Community Room in the Westfield Municipal Building, 425 East Broad Street. The band’s membership includes musicians from ages 18 to 90, including many active and retired music educators. Under the baton of conductor Dr. Thomas Connors, director of Instrumental Music Studies and an assistant professor of music education at Kean University, the band continues to perform a wide variety of concert band literature, including many contemporary compositions.
Experienced area musicians who are interested in a position with the band should contact band manager Barry Rosenberg at 908-337-9073 or info@westfieldcommunityband.com.
The band’s Summer Concert Series is sponsored in part by the Westfield Recreation Department, Megan Schaffer, Director, and is made possible by funds from the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Chairs and blankets are recommended. In the event of rain, the concerts will take place in the Westfield Community Room, located in the Westfield Municipal Building.
