Air Force Band To Perform At NHS

For the fifth year, The Lions Club of Newtown will bring the US Air Force Liberty Pops Band to Newtown High School for a few concert.

Military band concert: Brass, marches and John Philip Sousa, right? Think again. That’s so 20th Century.

How about electric guitars, vocalists, Broadway show tunes, rock n’ roll, costumes, movie melodies, soloists, audience participation, country, jazz, latin and swing?

And just maybe a couple of marches too!

This is not your father’s military band. This is the United States Air Force Liberty Pops. The 50-piece Liberty Pops is the flagship ensemble of the United States Air Force Band of Liberty, stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base outside Boston. This select group of professional musicians has been entertaining audiences throughout the Northeast for more than 25 years. 

Combining top-notch musicianship and showmanship, a Liberty Pops concert is a fast-paced, exciting production the whole family can enjoy.

Each year the ensemble plays for thousands of people across New England, New York and New Jersey, and is often featured in radio and television broadcasts as well. It has performed at Ellis Island and Lincoln Center in New York City, the Hatch Shell and City Hall Plaza in Boston, and many of the top theaters and halls in the region. Coming to big cities and small towns alike, the Liberty Pops celebrates the variety and diversity of America’s rich musical and cultural heritage.

The ensemble promise to leave audiences humming a tune, tapping their toes, and maybe even feeling a little more patriotic.

The Newtown performance this year is scheduled for Friday, May 5. It will begin at 7 pm in the auditorium of Newtown High School, 12 Berkshire Road.

This year’s program, called “Celebrations!,” will open with The Star Spangled Banner and then continue with works of Shostakovich, Karl King, Eugene Goosens, Alan Schonberg, John Philip Sousa, John Williams, a pair of Leroy Anderson pieces and others.

Tickets are free and can be obtained by sending a SASE to Newtown Lions Club c/o Jason Hsu, 17 Old Castle Drive, Newtown CT 06470. There is a four ticket limit per request.

Requests for tickets should be sent in early so that there is enough time for tickets to be sent out. Ticket holders must be seated by 6:45 pm, because doors will open at that time for any non-ticket-holders.

For additional information contact Lions Club President Jon Christensen at 426-8990, or Michelle Hiscavich, the director of Newtown schools music programs, at 426-7646.