ONTARIO CHAFFEY COMMUNITY SHOW BAND
https://www.showband.net
Dr. Gabe Petrocelli, Director
R. Jack Mercer, Founder

TO: Our Show Band Family
FROM: Your Band Director
WHAT'S UP? "A Salute To The Classics"
WHERE? Ontario Town Square Bandshell
WHEN? Monday, May 12, 2025
WHAT TIME? 7:30 pm Sharp
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $0000000000.00

Dear Friends and Music Lovers,

The musicians of the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band and The Boling Family are proud to present "A Salute To The Classics" on Monday, May 12, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.  The performance will be held at the band shell in Ontario Town Square located at 224 N. Euclid Ave. in Ontario.  The Woodwind Celebration Ensemble will present a pre-concert recital at 7:00 p.m.  The performance is FREE to the public.

The May concert features an exciting repertoire of classical music and outstanding instrumental soloists.  In addition, brass instrument students from the Ontario Montclair School District and Mountain View School District will be honored as recipients of the Jack Mercer Brass Scholarship.  Each student will perform a short musical selection.

The concert's special guest artist is musician/conductor Matthew Keating.  Matt serves as the executive director of the Claremont Community School of Music and conductor of the Claremont Youth Symphony Orchestra.  He has 26 years of experience in solo cello performance, chamber music, orchestral performance, arranging, private teaching, and conducting.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in orchestral studies and cello performance from California State University, Northridge.  He continued his studies in Germany in cello performance and orchestral conducting.  Matthew later traveled to Hawaii and performed as cellist in the Honolulu Symphony and served as a full-time director of the orchestra program at the Punahou School in Honolulu, and worked as an adjunct professor at Hawaii Pacific University.  Matthew has served as the Executive Director of the Claremont Community School of Music since 2013, where he also teaches cello privately and in groups, and recently was named the director of the Claremont Youth Symphony Orchestra.  He will perform a cello solo written by Camille Saint-Seans entitled "The Swan."

Assistant Director Pat Arnold will perform the renown "Concerto for Eb Alto Saxophone" composed in 1931 by Alexander Glazunov.  Pat, also known as "PT," is a Chaffey High School graduate who played in the CHS Tiger Band under the direction of R. Jack Mercer, the founder of the Show Band.  He attended Chaffey Community College to study music theory and received an A.A. in Music.  He played professionally before returning to finish his B.A. in Music at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where he studied composition with Philip Browne, Jazz with John Defoe and David Grasmick, and saxophone with Dr. James Mooney.

PT retired after teaching music at the high school level for almost 39 years.  He has taught locally in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District at Upland, Alta Loma, and Chaffey High School.  In 1994 he moved to Washington State where he taught at Lake Stevens High School.  In 2006 he returned to southern California and finished his teaching career in the Perris Union High school District.

Franz Joseph Haydn composed the "Concerto per il Clarino, Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major" in 1796.  A favorite of the concert trumpet repertoire, it has been cited as "possibly Haydn's most popular concerto."  Show Band trumpeter Gary Simpson's long-time interest in the concerto inspired him to arrange his version of the composition.  He will be showcased as the soloist in the Second Movement of the concerto.

Show Band 1st Clarinet Neil Vargas was actively involved in the Elementary School Band, Honor Band, Junior High School Band, Chaffey High School Marching Band and Concert Band, playing.  Neal attended Cal Poly Pomona, majored in business, and was involved in the Cal Poly Marching Band, Concert Band, Varsity Band and Dixieland Band.  He joined the Ontario Chaffey Community Band, in the fall of 1985, under the direction of Jack Mercer.  Neil will be the featured soloist on the beautiful composition "La Comparsa" written by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.

Show Band Clarinetist Holly Audet also will be featured as a clarinet soloist.  Holly has been playing music since the age of 8, starting with piano.  In middle school, she transitioned to the clarinet and continued to play at Colony High School in the jazz band, various honor bands, and was the drum major of the marching band.  Holly continued to play in college at UC Irvine while earning degrees in Chemistry, Psychology, and Teaching.  She now plays in the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band, teaches science at Chaffey High School, and has earned a Master's Degree in Physics.  She will be performing her third solo with the Show Band entitled "Andante for Solo Clarinet" written by French composer Jacques Mazas.

The outstanding musicians of the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band will highlight the concert with several instrumental selections, opening with the fanfare "Also Sprach Zarathustra" composed by Richard Strauss, "Toccata for Band" composed by Frank Erickson, "Circus Days" composed by Frank Piersol, and "Victory at Sea," a medley composed by Richard Rodgers for the 1952 television series Victory at Sea.

The performance will be narrated by City of Ontario Mayor, Paul Leon and retired City of Ontario City Manager and Vice President of The Friends of the Show Band, Al Boling.

Click to download this Flyer

Please be sure to join us for an exciting evening of classical music and do not forget to invite your family and friends!  You can also support the Show Band by visiting and feeding our Hungry Tuba located in the lobby of the auditorium.  This concert will be broadcast on local Ontario cable Channel 3.  Check your cable listings for the date and time.  For additional information regarding these performances or the rest of Show Band's upcoming concert season, please check our website at www.showband.net and follow the Show Band on Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

The Show Band will also perform in the Memorial Day Remembrance Program at Bellevue Memorial Park at 10:00 a.m. on Monday May 26, 2025.  The Show Band will join members of the Ontario Fire Department, Ontario Police Department, and local veterans from each branch of the services in paying tribute to military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces.  The program will be narrated by retired County Supervisor and former City of Ontario Mayor Gary Ovitt.  The guest vocalist will be Mr. Brian Detwiler and the keynote address will be given by Paul Leon, Mayor of the City of Ontario.  We look forward to seeing you there.

The community can help support the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band by becoming a patron of The Friends of the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band.  Become a Bronze Baton donor for $25-$249; Steel Baton $250-$499; Silver Baton $500-$999; Gold Baton $1,000-$1,500; Platinum Baton $2,500; Emerald Baton $5,000 and Diamond Baton $10,000.  Individuals or businesses may also become a Show Sponsor for $1,000.  For more information on sponsoring a show, contact director Dr. Gabe Petrocelli at gabe@showband.net.  All Donor names will be included on every program and our website for the entire concert season.  Baton and Show Sponsors will also receive complementary DVDs of each performance.  The Friends of the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band is a registered charity under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 C (3); EIN # 46-1422958.  Checks may be made out to: Friends of the OCCSB, P/O Box 1512, Ontario, CA 91762.

-----

The Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band was founded in 1985 by R. Jack Mercer and is now under the direction of Dr. Gabe Petrocelli with assistant directors David Schaafsma and Pat Arnold.  Band members represent at least two dozen communities throughout Southern California.  Adult and student musicians are invited to participate.  No auditions!  Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7 to 9:00 p.m. at the Chaffey High School Jack Mercer Band Room.  The band performs monthly concerts in the Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium and at other venues throughout the community.  All performances are free to the public.

Your Band Director,
Gabe