The Kenosha Pops Concert Band opens its 90th season of free outdoor concerts with a June 13 performance called Opening Night: Broadway Favorites.

“The Pops raises the curtain on its 90th summer season with an evening of memorable favorites from the Broadway stage,” said Craig Gall, the band’s musical director.

Before the concert, the Lance Middle School Wind Ensemble will perform, starting at 6:15 p.m.  The band performs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 8. All the performances — except the July 4th pre-fireworks concert — are on the band shell in Pennoyer Park, located at 35th Street and Seventh Avenue on Kenosha’s lakefront.

The other concerts this season are:

June 20: A Summer Potpourri: This program features “a variety of music, new and old,” Gall said.

June 27: Themes Like Old Times: An evening of standards and big band favorites. The U.S. Navy Band based at Great Lakes in northern Illinois will perform a pre-concert program  starting at 6:30 p.m.

July 1: This special Sunday afternoon concert starts at 5:30 p.m. on the band shell. The band’s special guest is Miss America Laura Kaeppeler, a Kenosha native and Carthage College graduate. Pre-concert entertainment starts at 5 p.m.

July 4: The band starts playing at 7 p.m. in Wolfenbuttel Park, at 60th Street and Third Avenue on the lakefront. The performance ends with a salute to the U.S. armed forces and the city of Kenosha’s fireworks.

July 11: Pops on the Dark Side: This program features “the music of the night,” Gall said. Guest soloist is trumpet player Matt Garza, a member of the Air Force.

July 18: European Holiday: The program is “a musical tour of Europe in 90 minutes,” Gall said. The Kenosha Summer Strings group will perform pre-concert enertainment starting at 6:15 p.m.

July 25: Pops Through the Projector: The Pops band plays favorites from the silver screen.

Aug. 1: Dynamic Duos: The Pops “salutes some of the greatest musical pairings of the 20th century,” Gall said.

Aug. 8: Encore Night: The Pops wraps up its 90th season by playing some of this summer’s favorites.

During the performances, the Pops Band operates a concession stand, offering popcorn, candy, soda, coffee and water. Also, parking is allowed on both sides of Seventh Avenue durings Pops concerts.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band wraps up its 89^th season with a concert Aug. 3.

The free concert starts at 7 p.m. on the Sesquicentennial Band Shell in Kenosha’s Pennoyer Park, at Seventh Avenue and 35^th Street along the lakefront.

The concert’s theme is “Best of the Pops,” featuring favorite tunes from this summer season.

The band’s music director is Craig Gall; the assistant conductor is Garrett Kornman. Greg Berg is the master of ceremonies and often performs vocals with the band.

Bench seating is provided at the band shell, but audience members can also bring lawn chairs or blankets.

The band operates a concession stand, offering popcorn, water, soda, candy and coffee, during performances. Funds are used to purchase equipment for the band.

Parking is allowed on both sides of Seventh Avenue for Pops Band performances.

The band’s musical director, Craig Gall, says: “We had another great season of music making for the Kenosha community. And we appreciate all their support, plus the support of the city of Kenosha and our patrons and sponsors.”

Adds assistant conductor Garrett Kornman: “I can’t believe it’s the end of another Pops Band season. It seems to go by so fast every year.”

Kornman added that a highlight this summer was the band’s indoor concert at Carthage College. “I love playing that indoor program, and I really appreciate everyone’s efforts this summer,” he said.

Pieces on the Aug. 3 concert that Gall will direct include:

• “Marching Up Broadway,” a medley of “Cabaret” by Fred Ebb and John Kander, “Hey, Look Me Over” by Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman and “Consider Yourself” (from “Oliver!”)
  by Lionel Bart.
• Medleys of tunes from the Broadway musical “Camelot” – featuring vocals by the band’s master of ceremonies, Greg Berg.
• Kathryn Thorson, a member of the Pops Band’s flute section, will be the featured vocalist on “All the Things You Are,” by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein from the 1939 Broadway musical “Very Warm for May.”
• “Summer of ’69,” arranged by Ted Ricketts. “This piece is brand new to the Pops music library this summer and features songs from the Woodstock era,” Gall says. The
  medley includes “With a Little Help From My Friends,” “Pinball Wizard,” “Somebody to Love,” “Proud Mary” and “Purple Haze” – featuring the Jimi Hendrix tune as played by a pops band.
• “Rainy Days and Mondays,” made famous by the Carpenters. Gall jokes that the song relates to this summer’s weather, which included the opening concert being rained out and two other concerts played under stormy, drizzling skies.
• “Bohmischer Traum,” a new piece Gall calls “the hottest polka in Europe.” That polka, he said, was played several times last weekend at Germanfest in Milwaukee.
• “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” also featuring vocals by Greg Berg.
• Songs from Disney’s “The Lion King,” including “Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
• Alfred Reed’s “A Festival Prelude,” which Gall calls “a real nice overture with a lot of sparkle to it.”

Kornman  is leading the band on:

• “The Walking Frog,” which was written in 1919 by Karl L. King when he was the director of the Barnum and Bailey Circus Band. “It was what they played while the clowns did a ‘walk about,’ ” Kornman said.
• The medley “Big Fun in the Sun,” containing the surfing classics “Barbara Ann,” “Surf City” and “Wipe Out.” Paul Griffin will be featured on the drum set on “Wipe Out.”
• “Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies,” including a medley of the tunes “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” “Mood Indigo,” “Caravan” and “Sophisticated Lady.”
• George F. Handel’s “Song of Jupiter” from his 1744 opera “Semele,” based on the classical myth of Semele, the mother of Dionysus. This version of the Handel piece was arranged by Pops favorite Leroy Anderson.

The program will also feature a few “special guests” and “Old Scottish Meleody” – better known as “Auld Lang Syne.” That traditional piece, sung by Greg Berg, has become the band’s signature sign-off each season.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is turning up the heat Wednesday night for its July 27 concert – “Pops Caliente: Latin Heat.”

The free concert is on the band shell in Kenosha’s Pennoyer Park, at Seventh Avenue and 35^th Street on Kenosha’s lakefront, and starts at 7 p.m.

“This is one of our most challenging concerts, with intricate rhythms and challenging passages in the music,” said Craig Gall, the band’s musical director. “Our audience can enjoy lots of familiar tunes.”

Pieces that Gall is directing include:

• “Matador” by John Cacavas. “This piece was written in the Latin-style and conjures up images of a bull fight,” Gall said.
• A medley of tunes from the musical “Man of La Mancha,” including “Little Bird, Little Bird” and “the Impossible dream.”
• “Latin Celebration,” another medley. This one contains the songs “Brazil,” “Besame Mucho,” “Perfidia” and “Mambo Jambo.”
• The march “Amparito Roca,” which Galls calls “an old Pops favorite that recalls Spanish bull-fight music.”
• “La Virgen de la Macarena,” a traditional Spanish piece arranged for The Canadian Brass. “The title translates to ‘The Maiden of Seville,’ and features Diane Kosmala on clarinet and John Sorensen on trumpet,” Gall said.
• The brisk, lively piece “Cumana.” “This is not an actual Latin tune, but Barclay Allen wrote it in the Latin style,” Gall said.
• “Tico-Tico,” from the Esther Williams movie “Bathing Beauty.” Gall says audience members “will recognize this Samba favorite.”
• Another Samba, “Lilt of the Latin” by David Bennett. This piece was a favorite of Gall’s mother.
• “Beguine for Band” by Glenn Osser. “This is a gem that goes back to 1954,” Gall says. “All of Osser’s pieces are so well written.”
• Gall is also directing “Malaguena” by Ernesto Lecuona, which is part of the “Andalucia” suite of music.

Garrett Kornman, the band’s assistant conductor, is also conducting a piece from that suite – “The Breeze and I,” which Kornman calls “one of the composer’s most famous pieces.”

Kornman is also conducting:

• The march “Zacatecas” by Genaro Codina.
• “Blue Tango” by Pops favorite Leroy Anderson – he’s not a Latin composer, Kornman says, but the tango is from Argentina in South America.
• “Tijuana Brass in Concert,” a medley of familiar tunes like “Spanish Flea” (the theme to TV’s “The Dating Game”), “Whipped Cream,”“The Lonely Bull” and “Tijuana Taxi.”
• “Cha Cha For Band,” another piece by Glenn Osser.

The band performs 7 p.m. Wednesday nights on the band shell through Aug. 3.

The final concert of this summer season is 7 p.m. Aug. 3: Best of the Pops.

Admission to the concerts is free. Bench seating is provided at the band shell, but audience members can also bring lawn chairs or blankets.

The band operates a concession stand on Wednesday nights, offering popcorn, water, soda, candy and coffee, during performances. Funds are used to purchase equipment for the band.

Parking is allowed on both sides of Seventh Avenue for Pops Band performances.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band moves inside for its July 20 concert, performing in Siebert Chapel on the Carthage College campus.

“Just in time for the heat wave!” said Craig Gall, the band’s musical director, about the timing of this concert. “Our audience can enjoy a more symphonic, intimate style of concert in the air-conditioned comfort of Siebert Chapel.”

“Symphonic Pops III” will open with Alfred Reed’s “A Festival Prelude,” which Gall calls “a real nice opening overture with a lot of sparkle to it.”

Kathryn Peperkorn will sing “IV. Pie Jeus” (Requiem Op. 48) by Gabriel Faure. Her summer opera workshop students will be performing as the Pops Band’s guests during the concert.

Another Faure piece — “Faure: Pavane” – is also on the program. He was a professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1905 to 1920.

“A pavane is a Baroque dance,” said Garrett Kornman, the band’s assistant conductor, who is conducting that piece. “The melody is simple and shows off all the sections of the band as they pass around the melody.”

Kornman is also leading the band on “Children’s March” by Percy Grainger – “this is my favorite Grainger piece” – and George F. Handel’s “Song of Jupiter” from his 1744 opera Semele,” based on the classical myth of Semele, the mother of Dionysus. This version of the Handel piece was arranged by Pops favorite Leroy Anderson.

Two pieces will feature the chapel’s organ — Haydn Wood’s tone poem “Mannin Veen” (“Dear Isle of Man”) and “Fidelitas,” which will be conducted by Jim Ripley, director of instrumental music at Carthage College.  Brian Schoettler, a recent Carthage graduate and a member of the Pops Band’s saxophone section, will play the organ.

Other pieces Gall is directing on the program include:

• “Florentiner March” by Julius Fucik. “He is Bohemian, but the march is written in the Italian style,” Gall said.
• Bach’s “Fantasia in G Major,” which Gall says “shows off the various colors of the wind ensemble.”
• “English Folk Song Suite” by Ralph Vaughan Williams – “a classic piece that features several British folk songs,” Gall said.
• “Victory at Sea” by Richard Rodgers. “We’ve played this piece outside several times, but never inside,” Gall said. “It’s been a dream of mine to hear what it sounds like in this space – and it will knock your socks off.”
• “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ ” by George Gershwin, from the opera “Porgy and Bess.” The band’s master of ceremonies, Greg Berg, will sing this piece.

“It’s always a treat to bring the band inside and take advantage of the reverberance of the hall – and we don’t have to worry about our music blowing off the stands.”

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is taking its audience on a safari July 13 – all from the band shell in Pennoyer Park, at Seventh Avenue and 35^th Street.

“Pops on Safari” is the theme for the Wednesday night concert, which starts at 7 p.m.  Admission is free.

“We combined our traditional Children’s Concert with a Pops on Safari theme for this week’s concert,” said Craig Gall, the band’s musical director.

Gall will lead the band on several pieces, including:

• “The Red Raven Polka,” which Gall said “was made famous by the Lawrence Duchow Orchestra from Potter, Wisconsin.”
• Songs from Disney’s “The Lion King,” including “Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
• “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
• Songs from the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” including “Over the Rainbow,” “If I Only had a Brain” and “We’re Off to see the Wizard”
• “Born Free,” the theme from the 1966 film of the same name. “This was written by John Barry, who is one of the great movie composers,” Gall said.
• “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” which dates back to 1907
• “The Pride of the Wolverines,” a 1923 march by John Philip Sousa
• Henry Mancini’s “The Pink Panther.” This arrangement has what Gall calls “a march swing, which is not the swing style people are used to hearing.”
• Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk,” from the 1962 movie “Hitari!” starring John Wayne
• Selections from the movie musical “Doctor Dolittle,”  including “Talk to the Animals,” “Beautiful Things” and “When I Look in Your Eyes”

For his portion of the July 13 program, assistant conductor Garrett Kornman will lead the band on:

• “Puff (the Magic Dragon),” featuring the band’s tuba section
• “The Walking Frog,” which was written in 1919 by Karl L. King when he was the director of the Barnum and Bailey Circus Band. “It was what they played while the clowns did a “walk about,’ ” Kornman said.
• Another circus piece – the frantic march “Thunder and Blazes” – will open the show.
• “Jurassic Park” soundtrack highlights because “nothing says ‘kids concert’ like giant killer dinosaurs!”

K-L Band playing July 13 on the Band Shell

Before the Pops Band’s program starts, the K-L Band will be performing, starting at 6:15 p.m.

The band is made up of about 115 students who will be in sixth grade this fall.

“The kids just completed their first year of playing their instruments,” said Katie Plovanich, the group’s first-year director. “They are very excited to be playing for the Pops Band’s audience.”

The K-L Band will play four pieces:

n  “The Infinity March”

n  “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”

n  “The Pirates of the Barbary Coast”

n  The Cuban song “Guantanamera”

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is playing its 89^th season of free concerts on the band shell in Kenosha’s Pennoyer Park.

The band performs 7 p.m. Wednesday nights on the band shell through Aug. 3.

The rest of this summer’s Pops concerts and themes are:

July 13: Kinderkonzert: Pops on Safari (animal-themed songs for children)

July 20: Symphonic Pops (indoor concert in Carthage College’s Siebert Chapel)

July 27: Pops Caliente: Latin Heat

Aug. 3: Best of the Pops

Admission to the concerts is free. Bench seating is provided at the band shell, but audience members can also bring lawn chairs or blankets.

The band operates a concession stand on Wednesday nights, offering popcorn, water, soda, candy and coffee, during performances. Funds are used to purchase equipment for the band.

Parking is allowed on both sides of Seventh Avenue for Pops Band performances.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is performing a program packed with patriotic favorites at 7 p.m. July 4 in Wolfenbuttel Park, downtown at the lakefront in Kenosha. That is also the site for the city of Kenosha’s fireworks show, which starts about 9:30 p.m. July 4. (The program will be repeated July 6 at 7 p.m. on the Sesquicentennial Band Shell in Pennoyer Park, at Seventh Avenue and 35th Street at the lakefront.)

The band’s musical director, Craig Gall, and Assistant Conductor Garrett Kornman work together to put together special holiday concert programs each summer.  This year’s concert theme is “Musical Sketches of America” and features pieces by American favorites Irving Berlin and Stephen Foster.  The program features a medley called “Irving Berlin: The Early Years,” arranged by Warren Barker.  “These tunes go back to the 1920s,” Gall said, “and cover some of his earliest hits. Jerome Kern said of Irving Berlin, ‘he is American music.’ That’s so true.”  Another medley on the program, arranged by Sammy Nestico, is “A Tribute to Stephen Foster” and features such familiar tunes as “Camptown Races,” “My Old Kentucky Home” and “Oh, Susanna!”  “Foster was born on the Fourth of July,” said Kornman, who is conducting this piece. “He is the top composer of American music of the mid-19th century.”
During the program, the Pops Band’s master of ceremonies Greg Berg will sing “God Bless America,” “America the Beautiful,” “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ ” from the opera “Porgy and Bess.”  “We’ve never played that ‘Porgy and Bess’ piece in concert before,” Gall said. “It’s from the quintessential American opera.”

Gall will also lead the band on:

• “God of Our Fathers” by Thomas Knox, the staff arranger for the top U.S. Marines Band in Washington, D.C., called “the president’s own.”
• “The Blue and the Gray,” a medley of Civil War tunes including “Marching Through Georgia,” “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” “The Bonnie Blue Flag” and “Dixie.”
• “The Blue-Tail Fly” by Clare Grundman. “That song was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln’s,” Gall said. “He called it ‘that buzzing song.’ ”
• “The Spirit of ’76,” a medley of songs from the American Revolution, including “Yankee Doodle,” “Norah, Dear Norah” and “Washington’s March at Trenton.” This piece was also arranged by Clare Grundman.
• “On, Wisconsin,” with Berg leading the audience in singing the state song.

Kornman is conducting “To Reap the Blessings of Freedom,” a medley of hymns of the U.S. armed forces, and “The 32nd Division March,” a tribute to Wisconsin’s famous Red Arrow Division. Kornman says audience members should listen for strains of “On Wisconsin” in the piece.

The Pops Band ends each July 4 concert by performing a medley of the official marches of the Army. Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, followed by “Taps” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.”  The five official marches will also be performed during the July 6 band shell concert, though not as a grand finale.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is playing its 89th season of free concerts on the band shell in Kenosha’s Pennoyer Park.  The band performs 7 p.m. Wednesday nights on the band shell through Aug. 3.  The rest of this summer’s Pops concerts and themes are:
July 13: Kinderkonzert: Pops on Safari (animal-themed songs for children)
July 20: Symphonic Pops (indoor concert in Carthage College’s Siebert Chapel)
July 27: Pops Caliente: Latin Heat
Aug. 3: Best of the Pops

Admission to the concerts is free. Bench seating is provided at the band shell, but audience members can also bring lawn chairs or blankets.  The band operates a concession stand on Wednesday nights, offering popcorn, water, soda, candy and coffee, during performances. Funds are used to purchase equipment for the band.  Parking is allowed on both sides of Seventh Avenue for Pops Band performances.

Dance music of all sorts is on the program June 29 when the Kenosha Pops Concert Band performs its “Dancing with the Pops” program on the band shell in Pennoyer Park, at 35^th Street and Seventh Avenue.

The band’s musical director, Craig Gall, and Assistant Conductor Garrett Kornman are both conducting pieces that range from a polka to a cha-cha piece written for concert band.

The band’s guest for the program is vocalist Lou Rugani, the host of WLIP radio’s “Music of the Stars” show Saturday mornings. Rugani will be singing three standards written by George and Ira Gershwin: “ ‘S Wonderful,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”

Gall will also lead the band on:

• “Dance of the Hours,” a ballet piece from the opera “La Gioconda.” The tune is also familiar to fans of the Disney animated film “Fantasia” (think: dancing hippos).
• “Big Band Favorites,” a medley of hits by some of the biggest names in big band music, including “I’m Gettin’ Sentimental Over You” (Tommy Dorsey), “Here’s That Rainy Day” (Stan Kenton), “Stompin at the Savoy” (Benny Goodman), “In the Mood” (Glenn Miller) and “Woodchopper’s Ball” (Woody Herman).
• “Mexican Hat Dance”
• “No. 7 Schuhplattler Tanze,” which Gall calls “a Bavarian folk dance in which the dancers slap their thighs and heels.”
• “Bohmischer Traum,” a new piece Gall calls “the hottest polka in Europe.”
• “The Sandpaper Ballet” by Pops favorite Leory Anderson. This piece will feature percussionists Cara Russo, Adam Gerlach and Lisa Garza on the sandpaper.
• Another Anderson piece, “The Girl in Satin,” which, Gall says, “covers the tango part of the program.”
• “Y.M.C.A,” the hit made famous by The Village People. The audience should be prepared to dance to this tune.

For his part of the program, Kornman will lead the band on:

• “Cha Cha for Band” by Glenn Osser. “This is a favorite piece of ours,” Kornman said. “It’s very catchy.”
• “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” a medley of tunes made famous by the Broadway choreographer, arranged by Warren Barker. Pieces in the medley include “Comedy Tonight,” “New York, New York” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”
• “Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies,” including the tunes “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” “Mood Indigo,” “Caravan” and “Sophisticated Lady.”
• “The Lord of the Dance.” Kornman says audience members should listen for “The Simple Gifts” theme that runs through the arrangement by Richard Saucedo.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is playing its 89^th season of free concerts.

The band performs 7 p.m. Wednesday nights on the band shell through Aug. 3.

The rest of this summer’s Pops concerts and themes are:

• July 6: Patriotic Re-view (which repeats most of the July 4 program, with a few changes)
• July 13: Kinderkonzert: Pops on Safari (animal-themed songs for children)
• July 20: Symphonic Pops (indoor concert in Carthage College’s Siebert Chapel)
• July 27: Pops Caliente: Latin Heat
• Aug. 3: Best of the Pops

Greg Berg is the master of ceremonies and often performs vocals with the band.

Admission to the concerts is free. Bench seating is provided at the band shell, but audience members can also bring lawn chairs or blankets.

The band operates a concession stand, offering popcorn, water, soda, candy and coffee, during performances. Funds are used to purchase equipment for the band.

Parking is allowed on both sides of Seventh Avenue for Pops Band performances.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band will be busy performing at events relating to the city’s July 4^th celebrations.

The band is performing a program packed with patriotic favorites at 7 p.m. July 4 in Wolfenbuttel Park, downtown at the Lakefront in Kenosha. That is also the site for the city of Kenosha’s fireworks show, which starts about 9:30 p.m. July 4.

The band’s musical director, Craig Gall, and Assistant Conductor Garrett Kornman work together to put together special holiday concert programs each summer.

Audience members will hear plenty of traditional marches, plus the band’s annual salute to the U.S. armed forces. The Pops and ends each July 4 concert by performing a medley of the official marches of the Army. Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, followed by “Taps” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

The Pops band will also be performing on a float in the city of Kenosha’s Civic Veterans Parade, which steps off at 2 p.m. on July 3.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is playing its 89^th season of free concerts on the band shell in Kenosha’s Pennoyer Park, at Seventh Avenue and 35^th Street along the lakefront.

The band performs 7 p.m. Wednesday nights on the band shell – except for the July 4 concert — through Aug. 3.

The rest of this summer’s Pops concerts and themes are:

• July 6: Patriotic Re-view (which repeats most of the July 4 program, with a few changes)
• July 13: Kinderkonzert: Pops on Safari (animal-themed songs for children)
• July 20: Symphonic Pops (indoor concert in Carthage College’s Siebert Chapel)
• July 27: Pops Caliente: Latin Heat
• Aug. 3: Best of the Pops

Greg Berg is the master of ceremonies and often performs vocals with the band.

Admission to the concerts is free. Bench seating is provided at the band shell, but audience members can also bring lawn chairs or blankets.

The band operates a concession stand, offering popcorn, water, soda, candy and coffee, during performances. Funds are used to purchase equipment for the band.

Parking is allowed on both sides of Seventh Avenue for Pops Band performances.