Download 2009 Program of Events (PDF)

July 5, 7:30 pm. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, the Seacoast Wind Ensemble is one of the region’s premier concert bands. This all-volunteer community band is led by Music Director Richard Spicer and is dedicated to musical excellence in performance and education in the tradition of the great American bands of the Sousa years. Members have roots in communities all along the New England seacoast, from Newburyport, MA to Portland, ME, and include qualified students and adults of all ages and walks of life.

July 11, 7:30 pm. (Saturday) The Downeasters Barbershop Chorus is the largest all-male acappella barbershop chorus in Maine. The Chorus has entertained audiences for 60 years, and their music is a celebration of their joy in singing. The Downeasters are familiar to Ocean Park audiences, and several members
have Ocean Park ties.

July 12, 7:30 pm. PORTopera has been producing summer opera in Maine since 1995 and their singers have made appearances in the OP Music Festival every year of their existence. This year we will welcome again Maine’s Emerging Artists, the talented stars of tomorrow, as they present an enjoyable evening of light operatic comedy. Look to the Ocean Park web site and This Week in Ocean Park calendar for details.

July 19, 7:30 pm. Husband and wife Daniel Strange and Ashley Liberty return once again to Ocean Park to perform a dazzling program of music for violin and piano. Selections for the evening will include Ernest Bloch’s Epic, Second Sonata, Poeme Mystique, and the lively temptation of Daniel’s Tango for violin and piano, which the couple will premiere on the Temple stage.

July 25, 7:30 pm. (Saturday) There was (almost) dancing in the aisles last summer when the Rev. Gary Miller brought his Dixieland band to a Sunday morning Temple service. This year Gary’s Celebration Dixieland Band will treat Ocean Park to a Saturday evening concert as well as a Sunday service. The Band is an outgrowth of Gary’s groundbreaking use of traditional jazz as an energizing spiritual force in worship services. It plays in a variety of venues, often supporting fundraising for community service efforts, with a repertoire ranging from “Tin Roof Blues” to “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans.” Don’t miss this joyful event!

July 26, 7:30 pm. Women of Note, an eight member, all-female, a-cappella group based in Southern Maine, has been entertaining audiences with beautiful harmonies since 1992. Their eclectic repertoire includes tunes from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, gospel, jazz, doo-wop, ballads, and folk songs. During their 17 years together, some of the most memorable performances have included a concert performance at The White House, singing with The Oak Ridge Boys, and as an opening act for Arlo Guthrie.

August 2, 7:30 pm. Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins - Two Old Friends - have joined forces to sing and play songs from Ireland, the mountains and the sea. Mac and Hutch founded and played for many years with the Northeast Winds. For the past 17 years, Mac has headed up Mac McHale &
the Old-Time Radio Gang, while Hutch has been a very important part of the Angel Band. Mac and Hutch will be playing the banjo, guitar, mandolin, concertina, bodran and the octave mandolin in a program sure to include some of your favorite Irish airs, hot picking instrumentals, and some great sing-a-longs. Come enjoy an evening with Two Old Friends!

August 9, 7:30 pm. The New England Ringers is a thirteen member community handbell ensemble of highly energetic musicians, who come from all over New England, playing the most advanced level of handbell literature. NER amazes listeners and receives enthusiastic reviews from audience members of all ages with performances that are a blend of lively and diverse musical moods and styles. The outstanding music is matched by touches of entertaining humor and the artful visual presentation of the ensemble playing this unique instrument.

August 16, 7:30 pm. For its annual Music Festival concert, The Temple Choir will perform “The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace,” written by British composer Karl Jenkins in 2000. Large in both scope and scale, “The Armed Man” is a profoundly moving yet accessible work which uses the most traditional of means to explore an all too contemporary subject. Dedicated to the victims of Kosovo, “The Armed Man” interpolates a number of different texts within the usual Mass form. Malory, Dryden, Swift, Tennyson, Kipling, The Koran, and the Hindu Mahàbharàta contribute to a compelling account of the descent into and terrible consequences of war. The Temple Choir and accompanying
orchestra will be conducted by Music Director Karla Kelley.

August 23, 7:30 pm. The New Legacy Swing Band, was begun in the early 90s and has been swinging the New England seacoast ever since. With the velvet quality of five saxophones, the brilliance of six brass and one of the region’s most experienced rhythm sections, the New Legacy
Swing Band recreates the great swing classic sounds of the Big Band Era.