Event Calendar
THE ALLENTOWN BAND 2024 Side by Side Concert
Sunday, April 28, 2024, 4:00 pm
THIS CONCERT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
NO TICKETS ARE REQUIRED
Ronald Demkee, Conductor
Col. John Bourgeois, (Ret) Conductor Emeritus U.S. Marine Band
Joseph Alessi, Trombone, New York Philharmonic
The Allentown Band's Annual Side by Side Concert featuring up to 50 talented area high school students playing "side-by-side" with the Allentown Band, conducted by Ronald Demkee and Guest conductor Col. John Bourgeois, Conductor Emeritus of the "President's Own" Marine Band, Washington, D.C. and guest soloist Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone, New York Philharmonic.
Part 1 The Allentown Band
Carlos Chavez
March Provinciana from “Chapultepic”
Arturo Marquez
Danzon No. 2
Arthur Pryor
Love’s Enchantment
Claude Debussy
Beau Soir
Joseph Alessi, trombone
John Philip Sousa/arr. John Bourgeois
People Who Live in Glass Houses
The Champagnes; The Rhine Wines; The Whiskies - Scotch, Irish, Bourbon, and Rye and Convention of the Cordials
John Bourgeois, conducting
— Intermission —
Part 2 The Allentown Band with Students
Alfred Reed
El Camino Real
Georg Lohmann
Bayrische Polka
Giacomo Puccini
Nessun Dorma
Joseph Alessi, trombone
Richard Wagner/arr. John Bourgeois
Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral from “Lohengrin”
John Bourgeois, conducting
John Philip Sousa
Stars and Stripes Forever
John Bourgeois, conducting
GUEST ARTIST BIOS
John Bourgeois
Director Emeritus Colonel John R. Bourgeois, USMC (Ret.), was the 25th Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. His acclaimed career spanned nine presidential administrations, from Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bill Clinton.
As Director of “The President’s Own,” Bourgeois was Music Advisor to the White House. He selected the musical program and directed the band on its traditional place of honor at the U.S. Capitol for four Presidential inaugurations, a Marine Band tradition dating to 1801. He regularly conducted the Marine Band and the Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House, appearing there more frequently than any other musician in the nation.
Bourgeois is past president of the American Bandmasters Association, chairman of the board and past president of the National Band Association, president of the John Philip Sousa Foundation, and the American vice president of the International Military Music Society. He has served on the boards of directors for the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles and the Association of Concert Bands. As Director of the Marine Band, Bourgeois was Music Director of Washington, D.C.’s prestigious Gridiron Club. He is a member of the Military Order of the Carabao, the Alfalfa Club, and the College Band Directors National Association.
Since retiring from the Marine Band, Bourgeois has been actively involved in music as a guest conductor, has published new editions of classic band compositions, and is a visiting professor in a chair endowed in his name at Loyola University in New Orleans.
Joseph Alessi
Joseph Alessi was appointed Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic, The Gurnee F. and Marjorie L. Hart Chair, in the spring of 1985. He began musical studies in his native California with his father, Joseph Alessi, Sr., as a high school student in San Rafael, California, and was a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony before continuing his musical training at the Curtis Institute of Music. Before joining the Philharmonic, Alessi was second trombone of The Philadelphia Orchestra for four seasons, and principal trombone of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for one season. He has performed as guest principal trombonist with the London Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, led by Pierre Boulez.
Alessi is an active soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. In April 1990 he made his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic, performing Creston’s Fantasy for Trombone, and in 1992 premiered Christopher Rouse’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Trombone Concerto with the Philharmonic, which commissioned the work for its 150th anniversary celebration. His most recent appearance with the Philharmonic as soloist was in the World Premiere of William Bolcom’s Trombone Concerto in the winter of 2017. Alessi has also appeared as soloist with the Philharmonic in performances of concerti by Kazimierz Serocki, Bramwell Tovey, and William Grant Still. Alessi performed the World Premiere of Chick Corea’s Trombone Concerto, composed especially for him, with the Säo Paulo Symphony Orchestra in August 2021, and in May 2023 he performs its US Premiere with the New York Philharmonic.