Maple Ridge Concert Band to play final two Twilight Tuesday performances

Only two more free concerts will be performed by the Maple Ridge Concert Band for its annual Twilight Tuesday, Pops in the Park, concert series.

The series takes place every Tuesday for the month of July at the bandstand in Memorial Peace Park – which the group helped build with the local branch of the legion, and then donate to the community more than 25 years ago.

Concerts start at 7:30 p.m. with band director Dr. John van Deursen. at the helm, and features an eclectic mix of popular music, show tunes, and traditional wind ensemble favourites.

Players for other community bands and alumni musicians have been invited to sit in with the band for the concert series.

The next concert will take place on July 18 and 25.

This is the first time after a three year hiatus due to the COVID 19 pandemic that the concert series has taken place.

For more than 75 years, the Maple Ridge Concert Band has been performing concerts, in local festivals and parades, in addition to numerous other community events, including the Remembrance Day ceremony in Maple Ridge where one of the band’s trumpeters plays the “Rouse” at the end of the two minutes of silence.

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There are three levels in the concert band: Performance Band that rehearses every Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Westview Secondary School, (WSS), during its regular season from September to June; the Intermediate Band which is for adults or students who have played a wind instrument or percussion in the past and now want to brush up or continue improving their skills; and the ABC Band, or All Beginner Concert Band, for adults who want to learn to play a wind instrument or percussion.

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The Performance Band will begin their next season on Sept. 12, and new members will be welcomed to the band at that time.

The Intermediate and ABC bands are both under the direction of conductor Greeta Das. The Intermediate Band meets at WSS at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday evenings. A free information and demonstration session for the ABC Band will take place Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at WSS, room 1173 at 20905 Wicklund Ave. in Maple Ridge.

For more information about the Maple Ridge Concert Band email: info@mrcb.ca or president@mrcb.ca, or go to mrcb.ca.