>Featured in CNN Money Magazine as outstanding alternative to traveling to New York City, the Ridgewood Concert Band, has distinguished itself as the preeminent Wind Symphony in the New York Metropolitan area.
was founded in 1983 to provide a serious performing outlet for many fine wind and percussion players living in and around Bergen County. The ensemble has developed into a nationally and internationally acclaimed community band. They have recorded Organic Band, a CD of music for organ and band. In 2003, the band released a CD of the music of Broadway composer, Michael Valenti.
In October 1997, the Ridgewood Concert Band was selected to receive the Sudler Silver Scroll Award, an international award for excellence, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. In the summer of 1998, the Band completed their first international tour, performing in some of the top venues in Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. In June 2003, the band traveled to the south of France for an exchange concert with the famous La Croix Valmer Band of Saint Tropez, France. In the summer of 2008, the band performed an exhaustive two-week tour of China, playing to packed houses in Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Xi’an, and Beijing just prior to the opening of the Olympics.
The Ridgewood Concert Band is comprised of serious musicians from all walks of life. Included in the membership over the years have been several former members of the New York Philharmonic, renowned composers and conductors, accomplished high school and college students, many of our areas most distinguished music educators, and graduates of our nations finest university and conservatory music programs. Soloists with the band have included Philip Smith, Joseph Alessi, Philip Myers, Warren Deck, and Joseph Robinson from the New York Philharmonic; Elaine Douvas, Michael Parloff, and Scott Brubaker from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; legendary tubist Harvey Phillips, and television personalities Charles Osgood, Gene Shalit, and Eugenia Zukerman. Guest conductors have included Keith Brion, Karel Husa, and Col. Bryan Shelburne.
Two years ago the Ridgewood Concert Band returned to its original home, Westside Presbyterian Church. The newly re-constructed church, a Ridgewood landmark, was totally destroyed in a major fire a few years ago. Featuring a beautiful setting with wonderful acoustics, Westside Presbyterian is a wonderful location to hear and see the band.
Regularly featuring new works combined with great classics the Ridgewood Concert Band provides a unique and exciting musical experience
Ridgewood Concert Band – Washington Greys
INDEPENDENCE DAY FIREWORKS CONCERT
Sponsored by: Konica Minolta Business Solutions Inc U.S.A.
Veterans Field, Ridgewood, NJ, Sat., July 4, 2009