Pomona Concert Band's 2026 Summer Concert Series

Dear Friends of the Pomona Concert Band and Supporters,

The Pomona Concert Band announces its 79th Annual Summer Concert Series to be held at the Palomares Park Community Center at 499 East Arrow Highway in Pomona, on Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. starting July 9th.  The band is sponsored by the City of Pomona. This year the series will include eight Thursday evening concerts with the finale on August 27th plus one bonus concert.  All performances are FREE to the public, so visit the band's concession stand and enjoy an evening of music.  The Bandshell at Ganesha Park was found to need emergency repairs and will not be available for us to use this summer.

The Pomona Concert Band is under the baton of Linda W. Taylor, Artistic Director and Conductor, and Assistant Conductor Kerry Kline.  Band members come from Pomona and more than twenty surrounding communities to make music together.  The Pomona Concert Band was founded by G. Stanton Selby in 1947 as part of a local Pomona American Legion Post.  The Band has represented the City of Pomona in countless events and performances over the years, including tours of Europe and Japan in 1985 and 1988.  The band represented the city in April 2015 with a stellar performance at the Association of Concert Bands Convention in Sacramento, California.

The band will have 2 nights that they will feature a conductor chosen from the audience.  You can buy tickets for a chance to be chosen to conduct the band on July 30th and also on August 20th.  Tickets will be available for purchase at the concession stand.

The opening concert on Thursday July 9th is titled "79 Years with Pomona Concert Band" and will feature music the band has performed over the years.  The band will be directed by Linda Taylor and Kerry Kline.  Bobby Collins will be the Master of Ceremonies for the evening that will include "A Somerset Rhapsody," "Italian Polka," music from the movies "Jurassic World" and "Silverado," and "Them Basses" march by G.H. Huffine.

The band will show that "Pomona Concert Band's Got Talent" during our second concert on Thursday July 16th with Linda Taylor as the Master of Ceremonies.  It will feature many of our regular band members conducting pieces chosen from various genres.  We are very fortunate to have these talented individuals in our band and we want to give them a chance to shine.  We will feature band member conductors french hornist Karen Greenwood, Dr. Jorge Garcia and Dave Schaafsma from the tuba section, trumpeters Christopher Northrop and Liza Zumbrunnen, bassoonist Carly Miller, percussionist James Thompson, and Pat Arnold and J.J. Magallon from the sax section.

"Harbor Views & Heartland Hues" is the theme for the third concert on Thursday July 23rd, directed by Kerry Kline and MC'd by Camila Larios, Angelique Coronado and Jocelyn Ruiz.  The music chosen by Kerry Kline for this concert includes "Brighton Beach" by William Latham, "Sag Harbor Sunset" by Robert Sheldon, "Lone Star Celebration" by James Curnow, "Cajun Folk Songs" by Frank Ticheli, and "To Dance in the Secret Garden" by Robert W. Smith.

The fourth of the band's summer concerts will be Thursday July 30th with the theme of "A World of Adventure," directed by Linda Taylor and Kerry Kline and MC'd by Paula Lantz.  The concert features music written for excitement, adventure and movie soundtracks.  Some of titles include "American Pageant," "Celtic Ritual," "Back to the Future," and "Bond... James Bond."  The concert will also feature a special performance with the Foothill Christian Legacy Youth Orchestra under the direction Ms. Aimee Knight.

On Thursday August 6th the band will present our fifth concert titled "Magic, Fantasy and Adventure" directed by Linda Taylor and Kerry Kline and MC'd by Columnist David Allen.  The program will include "The Music of Disneyland," "Looney Tunes Overture," "The Wizard of Oz Fantasy," "Who's That Masked Man" and Sousa's "The Liberty Bell March."

On Thursday August 13th the band will present a concert titled "Conductor Favorites" directed by Linda Taylor and MC'd by Columnist David Allen.  The concert will feature music that Linda Taylor has enjoyed over her many the years with the band. Selections will include "Toccata for Band," "On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss," Sousa's "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine," "Days of Wine and Roses," and "Marching Down Broadway."

For concert number seven on Thursday August 20th the band will present "The Williams Boys: Clifton, Ralph & John" directed by Linda Taylor and Kerry Kline and MC'd by Councilman Steve Lustro.  Featuring original works and arrangements by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Clifton Williams and John Williams.  The program will include "Concertino for Percussion and Band" by Clifton, "Sea Songs" and "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Talli" by Ralph, and "Selections from E.T." and "Star Wars - The Marches" by John.

The Pomona Concert Band will present their special bonus concert when we host the Golden State British Brass Band at a special time and date on Sunday August 23rd at 6:00 p.m. at the Palomares Park Community Center.  Conductor Jack Hollander will take the brass band through a wide variety of British band music along with many American favorites.  They have been a crowd favorite in the past   Don't miss this great addition to this year's concert schedule!

The Pomona Concert Band's final summer concert on Thursday August 27th is titled "An American Musical Journey of 250 Years" and MC'd by Paula Lantz.  The concert will feature music celebrating the long history of our country.  Included in the program are "Hail to the Spirit of Liberty," "Fantasy on American Sailing Songs," "Shenandoah," "Bugler's Holiday," "Beauty and the Beast," "Salute to the Armed Forces" and will close with John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever."  Lots of great music for your enjoyment to close out the band's 2026 Summer Concert Series.

This year promises to be the best summer of music yet, so please join the Pomona Concert Band for their 79th season of Music in the Park representing the City of Pomona.

You can follow the Pomona Concert Band on their website at www.pomonaconcertband.org to view their concert schedule plus photo gallery and video gallery.  The band has a YouTube Channel, along with Facebook, X and Instagram websites.  So click on the icons at the bottom of this email and visit our sites and let us know what you think.

Donations to the band are always welcome and appreciated.  The community can help support the Pomona Concert Band by becoming a supporter of The Friends of the Pomona Concert Band at the FRIENDS level ($99 & under), PATRONS ($100+), BENEFACTORS ($500+) and DISTINGUISHED BENEFACTORS ($1,000+).  All Donor's names will be included on every program and our website for the entire concert season.  The Friends of the Pomona Concert Band is a registered charity under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 C (3).  Checks may be made out to:  Friends of the Pomona Concert Band, P.O. Box 2753, Pomona, CA 91769.

Sincerely,