Families in Old Greenwich can close out summer with a free evening of Broadway music when the Sound Beach Community Band performs "Wicked Good: The Music of Stephen Schwartz" at Binney Park on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m.
The concert, part of the Greenwich Parks & Recreation Summer Concerts series, will feature tunes from five Schwartz musicals: Godspell, Pippin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt and Wicked. Admission is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs and refreshments.
Schwartz, the only Broadway songwriter with three shows topping 1,900 performances, has won three Academy Awards, three Grammys and a Golden Globe over a career spanning more than five decades.
A band born from the firehouse
The Sound Beach Community Band has been a fixture in Greenwich since 1955, when it started as a Fire Department Band. Now a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than seven decades of performances behind it, the ensemble is a regular at Binney Park summer concerts, the Memorial Day Parade, Independence Day ceremonies and holiday events across town, according to the band's website.
Music director Zachary Kampler, a Juilliard Pre-College Program graduate who teaches at Westchester Community College, leads the group through a repertoire that ranges from classical pieces to Broadway show tunes and patriotic favorites. Kampler also conducts for Westhill High School's Northstar Playmakers and The Connecticut Little Symphony, according to his production biography.
The Aug. 30 show marks the band's second Binney Park appearance this summer. The group performed a Billy Joel and Elton John program on July 26, as Greenwich Free Press reported.
Open to local musicians
The band charges no dues. Musicians of high school age and above can join without an audition; middle school students may participate by audition. The group holds weekly rehearsals in Greenwich.
For weather postponements or cancellations on concert day, residents can call 203-861-6100 after 4 p.m.
Upcoming community events
- Sunday, Aug. 30, 7 p.m. — Sound Beach Community Band, "Wicked Good: The Music of Stephen Schwartz," Binney Park, Old Greenwich. Free.
- Saturday, Sept. 19 — Perrot Library local author showcase, Old Greenwich.
