Greetings and welcome to the 62nd concert season of the Tri-County Symphonic Band. From a brilliantly colorful opening to a Broadway spectacular under the tent, this season invites everyone to share in the excitement generated by the very best symphonic band music ever written.
Sunday, October 22, 2023, 3:00 PM: Our opening concert, “Blue October” combines some very new music written by Cape Cod composer Michael Donovan with some venerable works that form the basis of the symphonic band repertoire. Pianist Susan Saposnik will perform Donovan’s “Blue Rhapsody”, a work that alludes to Gershwin with various samples of the blues throughout. Eric Whitacre’s masterpiece “October” follows as we all reflect on the beauty that surrounds us in these autumn days. The concert concludes with a somber and serene bluesy statement evolving into a pressure cooker of ebullient screaming blues that is Frank Ticheli’s “Blue Shades.”
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 1:30 PM: The Annual Children’s Christmas Concert will take place at the Sippican School in Marion as we are very much looking forward to continuing the long-established tradition. A special treat is a performance by the Sippican School Concert Choir! This concert celebrates the holiday season and is free admission for all, our gift to the community.
Sunday, February 11, 2024, 3:00 PM: The February concert this season is a salute to the office of the President of the United States we call “A Presidential Portrait”. What better way to celebrate a truly American weekend with a pre-Super Bowl concert featuring such iconic symphonic band classics as William Schuman’s “George Washington Bridge”, Elliot Del Borgo’s “A Jefferson Portrait” and Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait.” The only thing more patriotic would be if the game later that evening featured a win by the Patriots…
Sunday, March 17, 2024, 3:00 PM: A tribute to the revered and, at the same time, enigmatic
Australian composer Percy Aldridge Grainger will be the focus of our March program.
Grainger’s compositions range from sweet simplicity to immense sophistication, often in a
matter of a few measures. His masterwork “Lincolnshire Posy” will be performed as well as
“Molly on the Shore” and, of course, “Irish Tune from County Derry” as we celebrate St.
Patrick’s Day. This concert will be made possible, in part, by The Percy Grainger Society.
Sunday, June 9, 2024, 2:00 PM: Once again we will be under the Grand Tent at Tabor Academy for our Annual Pops Concert to benefit the John R. Pandolfi Music Scholarship Fund. This year’s concert will be all about Broadway as we re-visit the music from such hits as “Oklahoma!”, “Les Misérables”, “Candide” and “Hamilton”, to name a few. The program entitled “Broadway Showstoppers” will inspire the theater buff in us all as we tip our hats to some of the finest musicals to ever grace the Great White Way.
The 2023-2024 concert season, our sixty-second, is testament to our commitment to bring quality live music to the community. We are excited that you will be part of this tradition. Help us to share the “Tri-County experience” that has thrilled audiences for over 61 years.
Sincerely,
Philip E. Sanborn
Music Director
Philip Sanborn
Philip Sanborn is in his eighteenth season as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Tri-County Symphonic Band. Mr. Sanborn resides in Marion, MA with his wife Karen (baritone saxophonist in the Tri-County Symphonic Band). He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where he studied with Abe Torchinsky.
Mr. Sanborn was recently named Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Bay Colony Brass. The Bay Colony Brass is a large brass ensemble based in Newton, MA, comprised of some of the finest brass instrumentalists in the greater Boston area.
As a trombonist and euphonium player, Mr. Sanborn has performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Ocean State Lyric Opera Orchestra, Rhode Island Civic Chorale Orchestra, The Bass-Wingate’s Band (British Brass Band), Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, Tri-County Symphonic Band, Marion Concert Band, Our Lady of Light Band, and the American Band of Providence, R.I.
As a jazz trombonist, Mr. Sanborn has performed both locally and internationally including the Montreux (Switzerland) Jazz Festival. Mr. Sanborn has appeared with Cab Calloway, Julius La Rosa, Bobby Vinson, Duke Bellaire Big Band (Bovi’s, East Providence, RI), John Allmark, Tony Giorgianni’s Jazz Odyssey, White Heat Swing Orchestra, Ken Hadley Big Band, SouthCoast Jazz Orchestra, Night Life Orchestra, Mike and Joe’s Big Band, Mahrud, Jorge Ferreira, International Portuguese Music Awards, and many others.