Greetings and welcome to the 65th concert season of the Tri-County Symphonic Band. From a seafaring opening concert to a 1940’s music spectacular Pops Concert under the tent, this season invites everyone to share in the excitement generated by the very best symphonic band music ever written.
Sunday, October 18, 2026, 3:00 PM: Our opening concert, “Maritime Chronicles,” is a collection of dynamic pieces that help to illustrate life on the high seas. From sea treaders to pirates and from whales to secluded tropical islands, the music is dramatic, soulful and full of gusto. Ralph Vaughan Williams, W. Francis McBeth and John Philip Sousa are just a few of the featured composers.
Sunday, December 13, 2026, 1:30 PM: The Annual Children’s Christmas Concert will
take place at Sippican School in Marion as we are very much looking forward to
continuing the long-established tradition. This concert celebrates the holiday season and is free admission for all – our gift to the community.
Sunday, February 7, 2027, 3:00 PM: The February concert this season is “An Invitation to
Dance.” The program takes us on a trip abroad to sample some dance music from around the globe. Beginning in America with Robert W. Smith’s “To Dance in the Secret Garden”, we then travel to the UK to experience “Four Scottish Dances” by Malcolm Arnold. Mexican composer Arturo Márquez lends his opus “Danzón No. 2” to the festivities, followed by “Symphonic Dance No. 3” by the American composer Clifton Williams. The last two pieces on the program are P.D.Q. Bach’s “Six Contrary Dances” and Alberto Ginastera’s Argentinian hazaña de fuerza “Danza Final from Estancia.”
Sunday, March 14, 2027, 3:00 PM: The focus of our March offering will be the genius of
master composers Hector Berlioz, Georges Bizet and Leonard Bernstein. This eclectic
compilation was curated to guide the listener through three of the greatest musical minds of the 19th and 20th centuries. Bizet contributes his iconic “L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1” while Berlioz begins the concert with “Roman Carnival Overture” and ends the concert with the dramatic movement from his Symphonie Fantasique – “Marche au supplice”. The music of Bernstein is represented by his famous overture from the Broadway musical “Candide” and a medley from his most well-known musical, “West Side Story.”
Sunday, June 13, 2027, 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 program will be all about the 1940’s. The memorable decade was filled with a wide range of popular and serious music that we will present with three sets sampling selections from the Big Band Era, Broadway Musicals and the Concert Hall. The music from the 1940’s will surprise you with the energy and complexity demonstrating the transformational decade that was defined globally by World War II, economic recovery from the Great Depression, and the start of the Cold War.
The 2026-2027 concert season, our sixty-fifth, 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 65 years.
Sincerely,
Philip E. Sanborn
Music Director
Philip Sanborn
Philip Sanborn is in his twenty-first 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 is in his fourth season as 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.