Oak Ridge Today

Labor Day Concert: Dale Pendley retiring as conductor

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Dale Pendley and the Oak Ridge Community Band are pictured above in this submitted photo.

Dale Pendley and the Oak Ridge Community Band are pictured above in this submitted photo.

 

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As summer comes to a unofficial close on Labor Day, it is official that Dale Pendley’s many years of outstanding service as conductor of the Oak Ridge Community Band from 2001 to 2018 comes to a close as he heads into retirement. The Community Band is inviting all Oak Ridgers and area residents, particularly former Community Band members, former band students of Pendley during the years he worked as an educator in the Oak Ridge Schools, family, and friends to come on down to A.K. Bissell Park on Monday, September 3, at 7 p.m. to join with band members in giving Dale Pendley a warm send-off and many best wishes for his retirement.

Dale Pendley has been with the Oak Ridge Community Band since 1996, originally as a member of the trombone section, later becoming assistant conductor in 1998, and he was appointed the band conductor in 2001 after the retirement of former director Steve “Doc” Combs. Pendley is a graduate of Tyner High School in Chattanooga and received his bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He taught in the Knoxville City Schools and started the band program in the Grainger County Schools. From 1980 to 2012, he taught band in Oak Ridge Schools at both Jefferson Middle School and Oak Ridge High School. In addition to teaching and conducting, Pendley has performed with the University of Tennessee Trombone Choir, the Babahatchie Community Band, the Oak Ridge and Knoxville Symphony Orchestras, and numerous jazz and dance bands. Dale and his wife Rita have three grown children and one grandchild. [Read more…]

Celebrate summer in the park with Community Band on Sunday

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The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above at A.K. Bissell Park. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above at A.K. Bissell Park. (Submitted photo)

 

Although Oak Ridge students returned to school this week, it is still officially summer, and you are invited to “come on down” to A.K. Bissell Park on Sunday evening, August 5, for the 7 p.m. “Summer” concert performed by the Oak Ridge Community Band. This is the third concert of the summer season, and if you missed the Memorial Day and July 4 concerts, make your plans now to hear the Community Band in Sunday evening’s performance, a press release said.

This is a free event and a great opportunity for family and friends to enjoy a casual evening in the park, the press release said. Bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating. Refreshments will be available for sale.

This concert will have a variety of music featuring jazz, swing, show tunes, marches, and Broadway hits, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Community Band director retiring

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The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above in a concert directed by Dale Pendley at Oak Ridge High School. (File photo/Submitted)

The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above in a concert directed by Dale Pendley at Oak Ridge High School. (File photo/Submitted)

 

Oak Ridge Community Band Director Dale Pendley is retiring, and the band is searching for a new director.

Pendley’s retirement will be effective after the Labor Day concert, a press release said.

Those interested in applying for the director position can send an email to [email protected] or send mail to Lanny Huddleston at 225 Iroquois Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

People who would like to apply should submit a cover letter, resume, three examples of programs from performances they have produced and conducted over the past five years, and video recordings of performances, the press release said. Applicants will be reviewed by the selection committee, and selected applicants will be invited to conduct one or more Community Band rehearsals. Finalists will be interviewed by the Selection Committee and Board of Directors, the press release said. [Read more…]

Community Band has free Christmas Concert & Sing-along on Sunday

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Christmas Concert 2015 at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge (Submitted photo)

Christmas Concert 2015 at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble will ring in the Christmas season with a Christmas Concert and Sing-along on Sunday afternoon, December 10.

It’s a free event, and it will begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church, which is at 1101 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The performance is open to the public, dress is casual, and there will be refreshments at the conclusion of the program, a press release said.

“This concert is a wonderful opportunity to bring family and friends to relax and enjoy hearing familiar holiday tunes and sing favorite Christmas carols,” the press release said.

Among the numbers on Sunday’s program are two of Leroy Anderson’s most well-known holiday tunes: “A Christmas Festival,” featuring a medley of carols, and the time-honored piece “Sleigh Ride,” in which you can not only hear the bells on the horse pulling the sleigh, but the crack of the whip, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves, and the horse’s distinctive neigh, the press release said. [Read more…]

Area veterans invited to free Community Band concert for recognition on Sunday

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The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above in a concert directed by Dale Pendley at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above in a concert directed by Dale Pendley at Oak Ridge High School. (Submitted photo)

 

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November 11 is Veterans Day in the United States, and to celebrate this event, the Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble will present “Musical Salute to Veterans” concert on Sunday afternoon, November 12, in the sanctuary at Central Baptist Church.

Central Baptist Church is at 130 Providence Road, just across the street from Oak Ridge High School. The performance will begin at 3:30 p.m., and all area veterans plus family and friends are especially invited to attend this concert, which will include recognition of veterans and their service to our country, a press release said.

There will be no admission fee for this concert, but donations will be gratefully appreciated, the press release said.

It said band director Dale Pendley has planned a program of patriotic music and tunes, along with a reading of names of veterans attending the concert. Men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces can sign their name, rank, and branch of service at the ticket table, and these names will be read during the concert program. Program announcer will be Maggie Bayer, retired USAF reserve lieutenant colonel and a member of the Community Band’s percussion section. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Community Band has Labor Day concert on Monday

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Dale Pendley directs the Oak Ridge Community Band on July 4, 2017. (Submitted photo)

Dale Pendley conducts the Oak Ridge Community Band on July 4, 2017. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band has its last outdoor concert of the summer at 7 p.m. Monday, Labor Day, in Alvin K. Bissell Park. There is no admission fee, and everyone is encouraged to bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating, a press release said. To make things even “sweeter,” Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab will be in the park to provide cool refreshments, the press release said.

Along with the concert programs handed out at the tables around the performing pavilion, audience members can also pick up brochures outlining the Community Band’s 2017-2018 indoor concert season with performances scheduled from October through April. And as an extra bonus, tickets for free admission to the October 8 concert will be also be available.

Among the highlights of the Community Band’s Labor Day program will be the clarinet section’s performance of Wim Laseroms’s fast-paced “Claribelle,” the tubas and flutes in Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk,” and the trombone section in Henry Fillmore’s “Ham Trombone.” [Read more…]

Celebrate summer with music in the park on Aug. 6

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Dale Pendley directs the Oak Ridge Community Band during a concert at Alvin K. Bissell Park on July 4, 2017. (Submitted photo)

Dale Pendley directs the Oak Ridge Community Band during a concert at Alvin K. Bissell Park on July 4, 2017. (Submitted photo)

 

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After a very successful concert on July 4 before a large and amazing audience who stayed even through the rain showers, the Oak Ridge Community Band is currently rehearsing for its third concert of the summer to be held on Sunday evening, August 6, at A.K. Bissell Park.

Beginning at 7 p.m. that day, the Community Band will perform a “Touch of Latin”program, which will also include some swing, jazz, and show tunes. There is no admission fee for the summer concerts, although donations are gratefully accepted to help with community band expenses.

The public is encouraged to bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating, and Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab will provide refreshments. [Read more…]

Community Band has July 4 concert before fireworks

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The Oak Ridge Community Band in a previous July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Community Band in a previous July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band will have its annual July 4 Independence Day concert on Tuesday, July 4, at Alvin K. Bissell Park. The concert is free.

Large crowds are expected for both the concert and the city fireworks show that follows, so the public is encouraged to come early, a press release said.

“Bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating, and enjoy a very entertaining summer evening,” the press release said.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, and there is no admission fee. However, donations are welcomed to help offset band expenses. Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab will also be in the park to provide refreshments, the press release said.

Featured guest vocal soloists will be Deidre Ford singing the lovely strains of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” and soloist Lettie Andrade De La Torre singing Jerry Lackey’s arrangement of “Caledonia” from “Celtic Women.” Also on Tuesday evening’s program will be quartet singers Ed Calfee, Deidre Ford, Lettie Andrade De La Torre, and Roscoe Shipley who will be singing Jerry Brubaker’s “The Ultimate Patriotic Sing-Along,” Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” and John Stafford Smith’s “The Star-Spangled Banner—A Symphonic Portrait.” [Read more…]

Community Band concert will honor veterans on Memorial Day

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Lettie Andrade De La Torre

Lettie Andrade De La Torre

 

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Not only is Memorial Day an opportunity to salute our veterans and military personnel, it is often considered the “unofficial” beginning of the summer. In celebration of this holiday, the Oak Ridge Community Band will perform its Memorial Day concert on Monday, May 29. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. in A.K. Bissell Park, and there is no admission fee, although donations are gratefully appreciated to help offset band expenses.

The public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for outdoor seating around the Performing Arts Pavilion, and Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab will continue its tradition of providing refreshments during the concert. This concert is an excellent way for area residents, families, and friends to end the Memorial Day holiday weekend and have the opportunity to honor the men and women who have served in the military to maintain our freedom, a press release said. [Read more…]

Community Band Showcase Concert is Sunday, Jan. 29

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Oak Ridge Wind Ensemble Christmas 2016

The Oak Ridge Community Band is directed by Dale Pendley performing a Christmas program last December at the Canterfield Senior Living facility. (Submitted photo)

 

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An excellent way to usher out a wet, dreary January is by making plans to attend the entertaining “Music of Small Ensembles” Showcase Concert presented by the Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble on Sunday afternoon, January 29. This performance will begin at 3:30 p.m., and it will be held in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church, which is at 1101 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The Sunday concert will feature band members and area musicians in small groups showcasing their talents with an array of musical selections including classical, jazz, blues, swing, show tunes, and novelty pieces.

On the January 29 program will be the Secret City Tuba-Euphonium Quartet with euphonium players John Caughman and Bill Bell and tuba players Tim Powers and Joe Williams performing John Caughman’s arrangement of “Antiphonal Alleluia,” Reinhold Gliere’s “Russian Sailors Dance,” and Leroy Anderson’s “Bugler’s Holiday.” [Read more…]

Christmas Concert by Community Band this afternoon

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The Oak Ridge Community Band performs in a Christmas concert at First Baptist Church in 2015. (Submitted photo)

 

To help you ring in the Christmas season, the Oak Ridge Community Band/Wind Ensemble has a free Music of the Season concert this Sunday afternoon, December 11. The performance begins at 3:30 p.m. and will be held in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church at 1101 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It’s open to the public, dress is casual, and there will be refreshments at the conclusion of the program, a press release said.

“This concert is a wonderful opportunity to bring family and friends to relax and enjoy hearing familiar holiday tunes and sing favorite Christmas carols,” the press release said.

Among the numbers on Sunday’s program are two of Leroy Anderson’s most well-known holiday tunes: “A Christmas Festival,” featuring a medley of carols, and the time-honored piece “Sleigh Ride,” in which you can not only hear the bells on the horse pulling the sleigh but the crack of the whip, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves, and the horse’s distinctive neigh. [Read more…]

Today: Oak Ridge Wind Ensemble begins new concert season with Music of Europe Concert

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The Oak Ridge Community Band performs in last year’s Spring Concert at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center. (Submitted photo)

 

With the arrival of fall, the Oak Ridge Community Band becomes the Oak Ridge Wind Ensemble and begins its series of six indoor concerts.

The first performance of this series will be at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center, and it will feature the best of musical selections from various countries of Europe including the Greek “Never on Sunday,” “Amparito Roca Spanish March,” “Tales from Vienna,” “Russian Sailors Dance,” and several others.

Jim Dodson, art teacher at Jefferson Middle School, will be special guest narrator for Sunday’s concert program. [Read more…]