The Wheaton Municipal Band Patriotic Concert

The Wheaton Municipal Band kicks off the July 4th Celebrations with its most popular Band Concert of the summer-The Patriotic Concert on Thursday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Park in downtown Wheaton. But come early, because the pre-concert program begins at 5:45 pm with the Dixie Cups performing Dixieland jazz. Followed at 6:30 p.m. by the 85th Army Band Saxophone Quartet.

The band welcomes to the podium, Lt. Commander Lorelei Allison Conrad. (Retired) Conrad became the U.S. Navy's first woman selected to receive a commission as bandmaster in 1991. This is Conrad's second appearance conducting the Wheaton Municipal Band. The audience and the musicians love her sense of humor and wonderful musicianship, and were eager to have her return. Conrad says, "Playing in the band is good for the mind, it's good for the body and good for the spirit. What we can do as a group far supersedes anything we can do as individuals." Conrad grew up in up in Elburn, IL, 40 miles west of Chicago. Conrad and the Navy Band performed for presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and both George Bush and his son, George W. Bush In 1997, Conrad reported to Commander Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, as Fleet Bandmaster where she toured extensively throughout Japan and the Western Pacific region.

As a guest soloist, Conrad brings with her Musician 1st Class Kristin Pagent, a vocalist and native of Wheaton. She joined the Navy band in January of 2000. A vocalist, Pagent received her bachelor of music degree from Northwestern University.

The program promises to stir the sense of patriotism and rev up the spirit of the Independence Day Holiday. Of course there are patriotic marches-Washington Post and The Stars and Stripes Forever. There will not be a dry eye when the band performs Larry Grossman's Last Full Measure of Devotion, God of Our Fathers by Thomas Knox, and Armed Forces on Parade by Richard Hayman.

Don't miss this much-awaited Patriotic Concert on Thursday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. Come early and bring a picnic and enjoy the Dixie Cups performance at 5:45 and the 85th Army Saxophone Quartet at 6:30 at Memorial Park in downtown Wheaton.

For more information go to the band's website at http://www.wheatonmunicipalband.org