Morris Plains Community Band to Perform Free Concert

The Morris Plains Community Band, a thirty-piece traditional concert band, will perform a free concert on Wednesday, September 13th at 6:30 pm in Roberts Garden Park, Glenbrook Road and Mountain Way in Morris Plains.

The theme of the concert will be “Broadway Bound!”, and will feature selections from the “Great White Way” throughout history as well as other musical favori

In case of inclement weather, a rain date for the concert is the following Wednesday evening, September 20th.

The Morris Plains Community Band was originally founded in 1888 and led by local blacksmith Larry Monahan for fifty-two years until his death in 1940. The band was renamed the L. Monahan Memorial Band in his honor and continued to perform until it finally disbanded in 1953. Reactivated in 2015, the band rehearses on Wednesday evenings in the Morris Plains Community Center, and is made up of musicians ranging in age from twelve to seventy-five.

Designed to be a no-pressure opportunity for musicians of all levels and all ages, the music is easy (about junior high level), there is no cost, and just as important, no commitment or obligation. People are welcome to participate on any basis that they enjoy and fits their lifestyle. The player who joins us occasionally is just as welcome as the musician that attends every week.

The group performs monthly concerts; mostly for people that don’t get an opportunity to hear live music very often – nursing homes, senior citizen groups, etc. And again, participation in the concerts is just as optional as the rehearsals.

The Morris Plains Community Band is conducted by Larry Ripley, a retired musician and bandleader who is the third member of his family to lead a town band.

To learn more about the Morris Plains Community Band, contact Larry at 973-984-2505 or larryripley@verizon.net . Or just get that horn out of the closet and stop in at the Morris Plains Community Center some Wednesday evening from 7:00 to 9:00.