DETAILS OF UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

Friday, August 3rd - 8:15pm
RHYTHM, REEDS AND BRASS

Rhythm Reed Brass will bring its "Sound of the Big Bands" to the Sousa Band Shell stage on Friday evening August 1st at 8:15 pm for its participation in "Summer Sounds and Sousa '97." Howard Ziegler is Leader of the group and Al Dickerson is Musical Director.

This music of the late 1930's and 1940's has had a resurgence of appreciation over the past several years and appeals to a wide range of ages. Even high school stage bands such as that at Schreiber, enjoy playing the gems of that heyday of the swing band. To many, such numbers as "In the Mood" and "String of Pearls" are ageless and enjoyed not only as a bit of nostalgia by senior citizens but also by persons of all ages for the smooth melodic tones of these old favorites.

Rhythm Reeds and Brass selects the most popular music of a variety of bands: Glen Miller; Benny Goodman; the Dorsey Brothers and many others. Following the style of those groups, this ensemble includes a finale and a male vocalist.

The 20 member band is composed of 5 reed instruments, 8 brass and 4 percussion plus the vocalist and musical director. Three of these musicians - Vince Borkowski, Al Dickerson and Lou Giadina - were in the then Port Washington High School Band together in the late 1940's.

It was in the late 1960's that Howard Ziegler got together a group of musicians for the sole purpose of playing this 30's and 40's music for their own enjoyment without any interest in public performance. In Spring 1971, Borkowski, a member of the Sousa Band Shell Committee and a trumpet player with Ziegler's band approached June Mackey, Program Director of the Shell about the possibility of the group presenting its first public concert on the Sunset park Stage. The suggestion was quickly approved and the concert took place that Summer. They were an immediate hit and from that time have been an annual regular in the Band Shell Summer Series. Several of the musicians who played that first concert with the group will be again on stage for the forthcoming evening of "swing ".

Since that first concert here in 1971, this ensemble has performed for numerous events in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and even in Brooklyn. Currently, it plays the regular monthly dinner dances at Sans Souci, overlooking Hempstead Harbor.

In addition to his participation with Rhythm Reeds and Brass, Borkowski has been for many years principal trumpet and trumpet soloist with The Port Washington Senior High - Community Summer Concert Band and trumpet instrumentalist with The Pilsner Brass Band. Too, he is still a member of the Sousa Band Shell Committee and president of the Port Washington High School Band Alumni Association. Since dedication of the Shell in 1967 there have been approximately 450 concerts in the Sousa Shell; Borkowski has been on stage for 169 of these performances participating with 6 different musical organizations.

Friday, June 29th - 8:15pm
NORTH SHORE POPS CONCERT BAND

On Friday evening August 8th at 8:15 pm, North Shore Pops Concert Band will come again to the Sousa Band Shell to present the concert of that evening. Eric A. Albinder, director of the group, will be on the podium. For this evening of music the Nassau County Office of Cultural Development will join The Sousa Band Shell Sponsorship Fund as Co-Sponsor.

Its first appearance in Sunset Park during the 1995 Band Shell series was enthusiastically received by the audience. The range of summer concert music performed had just the right balance and played with vigor. No less an enjoyable evening can be expected for this upcoming event.

Al Greene, the now retired former director of the group, organized this band in 1985 by placing an ad in one of the publications on Long Island. Anticipating that a few musicians would show up, he was astounded to have 38 appear for the organizational meeting. The Glen Cove based unit now has a roster of 80 musicians with about 55 of them playing the usual concert.

Friday, June 22th - 8:15pm
THE AMERICAN CONCERT BAND

Flag Day will be observed in the Sousa Bandshell on Friday June 13 at 8:15 PM with a concert by the American Concert Band. This musical organization traditionally has performed this holiday celebration in Sunset Park on the Friday evening on or nearest to June 14. Dr. Kirby Jolly; Music Director/Conductor of this group always arranges a program to fit the occasion.

Joint co-sponsors of this evening of music include the Department of Parks and Recreation of the Town of North Hempstead, the U.S. Recording Industries Musicians Performance Trust Fun/Local #502, Fleet Bank, The American Concert Band Society of Long Island and The Sousa Sand Shell Sponsorship Fund.

Dr. Jolly has lined up a varied program of music of Americana for this event. Marches by Sousa (including "The Stars and Stripes Forever ") and Bagley's "The National Emblem", all very suitable for the continuing celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the first performance of "The Stars and Stripes Forever". Music by Gershwin - his "An American In Paris" and "Second Prelude" will be included. No Flag Day program would be complete without "Its A Grand Old Flag" and it will be on the schedule for this occasion. "Places USA" Is a musical panorama of the U.S.A. An overture is a regular staple of outdoor concerts and for this evening, it will be "American Overture" by Jenkins. And there will be more! The trumpet soloist of the evening will also be Dr. Jolly; he has so performed in prior concerts in the Shell to the great appreciation of the audience.

This 40 musician ensemble is composed entirely of professional musicians many of whom have performed on the Bandshell stage on numerous occasions. The band itself has a continuity of 21 summers of concerts in Sunset Park.

While the band's busiest period is in its summer outdoor programs it does present concerts throughout the year.

Dr. Jolly's career encompasses a full range of musical activity as conductor, performer and musical educator. One of the highlights of that career was his founding of The American Concert Sand in 1972. As a trumpet virtuoso he has performed with the Goldman and New York Symphonic Sands, the Syracuse and Huntington Symphony Orchestras and the theater orchestras for "Fiorello" and "Do Re Mi". He has been a music educator in public schools and at the college level. In addition to a PhD degree from New York University, he has his Master's and Bachelors' degrees from Syracuse University.

He is concurrently director of the Bethpage Brass band, a position he has held for several years; this unit is the official band of Old Bethpage Village. It performed some of the music for PBS award winning TV series "The Civil War".

Friday, June 8th - 8:15pm
THE PILSNER BRASS BAND

Sunset Park will be filled with the distinctive sounds of middle European ethnic music on Friday evening June 20. At 8:15 the Pilsner Brass Band will start its performance of a potpourri of polkas, songs, marches, ballads and specialty numbers from the Sousa Bandehell stage. Susan Gormley will be on the podium to conduct the festivities.

This 25 member group carries out a fast paced program of relatively short musical numbers making such an evening reminiscent of that in a German beer garden; or at least as the movies and TV depict such a place. Actually, most of the music played by Pilsner has its derivation from that of Bavaria, Czechoslovakia and Bohemia. It is a happy, foot tapping music; perhaps this is one of the reasons it has been in such demand by many different organizations in many locales over the years.

Pilsner has performed in the Shell on several occasions in the past to the great appreciation of the audiences there One long time musician with the group is trumpet player Vince Borkowaki, a member of the Sousa Band Shell Committee from its very early days. He has performed with several musical organizations in Sunset Park; so much so that he has participated in almost one half of all of the concerts presented on the Sunset Park stage. Borkowski is a Port native and resident and graduate of its school systems.

Friday, August June 24th - 8:15pm

THE BAND OF LONG ISLAND

Sousa marches will play a prominent role in the concert to be performed in the Sousa Band Shell on Friday evening, July 27, by The Band of Long Island. Michael Flamhaft; Musical Director/Conductor of the group, has arranged a program to be remembered for this 8:15 event. His program includes "Sousa on Parade Part I" in the first half of the program which includes three such marches and "Sousa on Parade Part II" in the second half to include two more. The closing number will be "The Stars and Stripes Forever". So this will be an evening of six of The March King's best.

Otherwise the program will include several of George Gershwin's most familiar compositions Too, there will be selections from "Fiddler on the Roof' and "My Fair Lady". Also to be included are "The Last Grand Polka" by John Cacavas and "Italian Festival" arranged by Glenn Osser.

Sponsors of this performance are The Roslyn Savings Sank and The Sousa Sand Shell Sponsorship Fund.

Flamhaft founded the 42 musician ensemble in 1995 after two years of preparation Although the organization is a relatively new one1 it includes some of the most proficient of Long Island musicians.

Sunset Park is a familiar location to Flamhaft who has been on the Sousa stage both as conductor and as trombone instrumentalist with the Port Washington Senior High School/Community Summer Concert Band. Also he conducted The Band of Long Island in its first concert in the Sousa Shell in 1996 as a special event of The Stars & Stripes Forever 100th Year Anniversary Celebration. He has a B.S. in Music Education from State University of New York at Fredonia and a M.S. from C.W. Post College of Long Island University. Prior to taking early retirement he was Director of Music Education in the West Hempstead School system.