1st Edition
Spring, 2017
Welcome to the first edition of the Maine Pops newsletter! This quarterly
publication is designed for MPCB members and fans, and will include articles
about individual band members, future rehearsal schedules, upcoming
performances, and other items of interest to the Maine Pops community. Please
submit any questions, comments, or suggestions to the editor, Chuck
Hornberger, at [email protected]
It’s Never Too Late to Start
Susie Jones has sung in various choral groups all her
life, but she never played an instrument until she
picked up the trumpet at age 55. She currently plays
euphonium, having been with MPCB for about 15
years. She has really enjoyed her participation in
band the past few years. In addition to MPCB, Susie
has played with Westbrook City Band, Centennial
Brass Band, Portland Brass Quintet, and Low
Commotion (you’ll have to ask Susie about this!).
A native of Wilkes-Barre, PA, Susie
was born on October 30th, 1939. She
graduated from Wyoming Seminary
(Kingston, PA) in 1957, Goucher
College (Towson, MD) in 1961, and
earned an MS in chemistry from
Wilkes University in 1968. Susie
teaches science at Kaplan University. Besides music
and science, she’s also interested in math, and she’s
a big fan of Boston sports – Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics,
and Bruins (in that order).
Susie has four grandchildren who apparently share
her many interests – Camden, Colton, Truman, and
Harper Bubblo. Camden (age 15) plays trombone,
made states his freshman year, and made states this
year in voice. 14-year-old Colton plays soccer.
Truman (11) plays trumpet, sings, and acts in musical
comedies. 8-year-old Harper plans to play trombone
like her big brother. Susie tries to promote
Camden’s involvement in music as much as possible,
but she says he’s already surpassed her at this point;
he’s a really good jazz player. But remember, Susie
had a late start!
Page 1
In this issue:
Our Spring Concert
Page 2
Upcoming Band Schedule
Page 3
R. B. Hall Day
Page 6
Our New Director
Page 9
Band Member Profiles
Susie Jones
Page 1
Richard Johnson
Page 3
Dick Capozza
Page 3
Tom Wadsworth
Page 4
Dave Gowen
Page 5
John Kreutzberger
Page 5
Lindsey Allard
Page 6
Chuck Hornberger
Page 7
Jen Conte
Page 7
Reba Meserve
Page 8
Bob Travis
Page 8
When I designed our spring program, I wanted to balance what the members
would enjoy working on and what the audience would enjoy listening to.
Creating the program involved selecting music that would reinforce our strengths
and stretch our imaginations and accomplishments, while providing a variety of
styles and genres too. Considering a theme, I researched our library and discovered
there were a number of pieces with a proper name in the title. So, deciding on
names as a theme, our program title became “the Name Game.” Great American
standards are the core of the program, including medleys composed by Cole Porter,
Duke Ellington, and Hoagy Carmichael. These are supplemented with compositions
by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and other composers. The band has
responded wonderfully to this timeless music. In addition, we have made some new
musical discoveries (hip-hop!) to expand our repertoire.
To get our audience involved, I created a “crossword puzzle.” As you will discover,
the answers to the puzzle are all proper names, which are in the song titles of the
program. We hope you enjoy our music and also have fun playing “The Name
Game.”
Tom Wadsworth
Page 2
Maine Pops 2017 Schedule thru June
All rehearsals are in the Scarborough High School Band Room at 7:00 pm unless otherwise
noted.
April 19
April 26
April 30
May 3
May 8
Wed
Wed
Sun
Wed
Mon
Rehearsal at WFBC
Rehearsal
Spring Concert, 2 pm
Rehearsal
MIOS Scarborough
May 9
May 17
May 24
Tues MIOS Scarborough
Wed Rehearsal
Wed Rehearsal
May 25
May 31
June 7
June 14
June 15
Thur
Wed
Wed
Wed
Thur
June 21
June 24
Wed
Sat
MIOS Falmouth
Rehearsal
Rehearsal
Rehearsal
Project Grace, Scarborough
Memoral Park
Rehearsal
R. B. Hall Day
Local “Boy” Makes Good
Maine Pops president, Richard
“Dick” Capozza, was born and
raised in Portland on August 5th,
1944 and graduated from
Portland
High
School
(go
Bulldogs!). Dick has also resided
in Westbrook and currently lives
in Gorham.
He has played
trombone with Maine Pops for 28
years, ever since he founded the band in 1988 as the
Italian Heritage Center Concert Band. Dick also
participates in the Alumni Band and Chandlers Band,
and was a former member of Casco Bay Wind
Symphony.
A retired teacher after 38 years, Dick earned his BS
from the University of Maine Orono, and his MEd
from USM, specializing in biological and earth
sciences, which probably explains his avid interest
in yard and garden work, as well as making vino.
Dick was raised in an Italian Catholic household, and
has travelled to Italy with the Maine Pops in 2010,
but his taste in foods is not limited to Italian; in fact,
he listed his favorite foods as “all”… (except “yukki”
sushi). Richard and his wife, Pat, have three children
and seven grandchildren. I wonder how many of
them live locally as well.
Around the World (in 80 Years)
Trombonist Richard Johnson has a fascinating,
almost mind-boggling bio. He was born in Rockford, IL,
on February 25th, 1932. While he currently resides in
Sanford, Richard has also lived in Bolivia, Peru, Italy,
and Japan. He earned a BS from
Augustana College (Rock Island, IL),
an MA from the University of
Wisconsin, and a master’s in natural
science from the University of South
Dakota. His primary areas of study
were math, chemistry, and geology.
Richard is a retired teacher, but
he has also been employed as an editor, author, janitor,
and even a dishwasher. His musical activities as
trombonist have included the Alumni Band, the
Strafford (NH) Wind Symphony, Sanford Parade
Band, Farslides Quartet, and the Brassworks Brass
Quintet. In 1942, Duke Ellington and Bob Russell
produced the tune “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”
How do you relate to that, Richard?
Page 3
Thomas Y. Wadsworth,
Our Interim Director
(for Wad is Worth)
From childhood to the present, music has been a pursuit and a pleasure. My parents
nurtured a very early interest. My first love was playing the piano. I went to college as a
clarinet major, but was soon steered to major in piano performance by a wonderful
professor. Combining my love of working with kids and music, I became a public education
music teacher. But I also had some additional extraordinary opportunities. I played piano
in a fifteen-piece dance band for eight years. There I learned the heart and soul of the
“Great American Songbook.” Thanks to very supportive administrators, I was able to write
and direct several children’s musicals. I always had extra gigs playing for parties,
receptions, and accompanying musical theatre productions.
After I completed my teaching career, even more opportunities opened up. I was on the
faculty of the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C., where I was also a staff
accompanist. I accompanied at the Sidwell Friends School. I got to return to and greatly
expand my repertoire in the Great American Songbook, playing for private parties,
receptions at governmental agencies, and several of the largest embassies in D.C.
After spending most of the prior 30 summer vacations in Maine, we moved here in
retirement. Here, I’ve accompanied musical theatre productions, played in a Portland wine
bar, and discovered the Maine Pops Concert Band, where I returned to playing the clarinet,
found some great new friends, and have had a blast discovering yet another musical
opportunity – conducting!
Page 4
Gowen Places….
54-year-old Dave Gowen, trombone section leader, is a native and lifelong resident of Westbrook, but he has certainly
not been stationary. He started playing trombone in 5th grade. Don Doane taught 5th and 6th grade music at that time.
Dave played through senior year in Westbrook... concert band, marching band, stage band (or jazz band, as it was known
back then), and pep band. Besides Don, other music teachers were Tony Boffa, Norm Richardson, Terry White and Scott
Gordon.
Dave was an accounting major at USM,
where he played one year (1980-1981) just for fun in
concert band under Peter Martin and jazz
band under Bill Street. Dave also ran the Westbrook
High pep band for two years during college.
In 1981, however, he put the horn down and did not play
another note until 2012. Dave joined Maine
Pops in 2013, after spending a year relearning how to
read music and play the ‘bone.
Dave and his wife Kathy grew up in same
neighborhood and were both members of WHS class of
1980, although they did not start dating until
college. According to Dave, it “took me awhile to
convince her, I guess!” Dave and Kathy were
married in 1986 and have two kids: Nate is a graduate
music student at UMass, and Hannah is an
undergrad in lab science at UMaine. The entire family
plays or has played music. Dave joined his father’s accounting firm in 1984 and has been in the practice for 33 years. He
earned his CPA in 1986 and has been the managing partner since 1998. Gowen, Sawyer & Co is located in Windham.
In addition to Maine Pops, Dave plays in a trombone quartet and has sat in with Saco River Jazz and Chandlers Band.
Besides his interest in music, Dave has been a Civil War re-enactor since 1994 with Third Maine Volunteers, he’s a member
of Highland Lake Grange and Maine State Grange, and he has also volunteered with many other community organizations.
With many years still ahead, Dave will hopefully continue “goin’ places.”
A Man of Design
John Kreutzberger, another trombonist, has been a member of Maine Pops for the past year.
He and his wife, Ann Tracy, live in the Deering Center section of Portland. Their “children” are a
pair of mini-schnauzers that they rescued a couple years ago and that love going
through Baxter Woods with John every day – rain, snow, or shine.
A native of the Midwest, John was born in Chicago on January 28th, 1951. He
graduated from Cedarburg High School in Cedarburg, WI, where he played
baritone bugle in the Cedarburg Thunderbolts Drum and Bugle Corps. John
majored in mathematics at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL.
While at IWU, he played trombone in the university jazz band all 4 years. John
has also lived in Milwaukee, WI, Denver, CO, and both Sunnyvale and Sacramento, CA.
John is now semi-retired from his sole proprietorship, J K Mold Design, a provider of high-end,
complex mold designs for plastic injection-molded parts and aluminum and zinc die casting.
Formerly, John was a contract tooling design consultant. In addition to his musical interests and
design work, John is an avid gardener. I bet he has some interesting horticultural designs!
Page 5
Portland Girl
Lindsey Allard, one of our younger members, was born in Portland on
July 21st, 1995. She’s been with Maine Pops for 2 years as a
percussionist, but she also studies piano with Matthew Fogg and plays
“a little” guitar (Isn’t that a ukulele?). Although Lindsey graduated
from Brunswick High School, she currently lives in Portland. She also
attended STRIVE U for 2 years and has lived in Durham, ME. In her 21
years she has undergone four heart surgeries.
Lindsey’s family includes one brother, three aunts, two Uncle Jims (“with different
first names haha” – you’ll need to ask Lindsey about that), and 8 cousins. Lindsey’s
favorite foods include tacos, chicken, salads, soups, hot dogs, spaghetti, and cookies.
Her travels outside Maine have been limited to Vermont, Texas, and Florida. Perhaps
that is because Lindsey doesn’t drive yet; she’s waiting a few more years. Lindsey
is rather shy when meeting new people. She has two close friends, Kira and
Stephanie, neither of whom are in the band. In addition, Lindsey now has a cat in
her Portland apartment, and her name is Cymbal. I bet she crashes with Lindsey at
night!
R. B. Hall Day
Robert Browne Hall (1858–1907), usually known as R. B.
Hall, was a leading composer of marches and other music for
brass bands. He was born in Bowdoinham and seldom left his
native state of Maine during his lifetime, dying in Portland. He
was an accomplished conductor and cornet soloist, whose creative
talent and native ability marked him as one of Maine’s
outstanding citizens.
In 1981, the Maine state legislature designated the last
Saturday in June of each year to be R. B. Hall Day, and the Governor shall annually issue a
proclamation inviting and urging the people of the State to observe the day with appropriate ceremony and
activity.
This year, the Maine Pops Concert Band will host R. B. Hall Day. Please join us and other
community bands from Maine on Saturday, June 24th, at Discovery Park (on L.L. Bean property) in
Freeport for this festive occasion.
Page 6
All Keyed Up (a Double Entendre)
Chuck is married to Ted Gaiser, the
rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Bath;
they’ve been together for 34 years. They
have 2 dogs: Maggie (cocker spaniel)
and Wilson (springer spaniel), who live
and travel with Chuck between Portland
and Bath. Although Chuck is very much
an introverted home body (a plague on both your
houses??), he has traveled to France, Norway,
Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Israel, Nova Scotia, Montreal,
Quebec, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Colombia.
Besides music and travelling, Chuck loves working with
his hands in any capacity – home maintenance and repair,
fixing just about anything, needlework, furniture
refinishing, and so forth. As a youngster, Chuck had ADD
long before the disorder had been given a formal name,
and even today he cannot sit still (without the help of
Ritalin); he’s always all keyed up!
Born on May 16th, 1946 in Lancaster, PA, percussionist
Chuck Hornberger grew up in Lititz, PA. He received a BS
in music education from Lebanon Valley College (PA),
studying organ, piano, tuba, and even the harpsichord
which he had built from a kit (in just 10 days!). He taught
choral music in Lititz, then in Old Saybrook and Guilford,
CT. Before retiring to Portland (and Bath), Chuck worked
for 27 years in radiology information systems at Children’s
Hospital in Boston. While there, he earned an MBA at
Suffolk University, mastering the computer keyboard (go
finger!).
Chuck joined MPCB in 2014, having not played
percussion since 1968. In addition to the band, he sings in
the choir at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland and is codirector of the OLLI Singers at USM. He has also sung with
the men and boys’ choir of Trinity Church on the Green
(New Haven), Back Bay Chorale (Boston), Newton Choral
Society (MA), and Portland’s Choral Arts Masterworks.
A “Jen”uine New Yorker
Trumpeter Jennifer (Jen) Conte has been with Maine Pops off and on since 2013, playing less than one year total.
She was born on September 13th, 1982 in Floral Park (Queens), NY. Jen currently lives in Portland, but will soon be
moving to Westbrook. In the past, she’s lived in Queens, NYC, and in Rockland and Orange counties in upstate NY (or
downstate NY, depending on your view).
Jen attended high school at Saint Francis Prep (Fresh Meadows, NY), undergrad at SUNY Purchase
College (Purchase, NY), and grad school at Fairleigh-Dickinson University (Teaneck, NY). Her major
was biology, and she is now a scientist at EnviroLogix in Portland. In the past she has also been a
customer service rep, bookseller, grocery store cashier, piano teacher, math tutor, and even a
professional marcher (yep, in NY she got paid for marching!).
Besides trumpet and piano, Jen “plays” karaoke machines, and she’s a really, really crappy guitarist
(as she doesn’t practice enough). She was a former member of the Rockland County Community
Concert Band (2012-2013) and Tom Kane’s marching band (in the lower NY area) during the summer of 2012.
Jen has extremely diverse interests. She’s an avid Netflix watcher, a fan of horror movies, reader of sci-fi fantasy
books, cat herder (including herding people), goth club socialite, voracious eater of foods from other cultures, a
“foodie” and distilled spirits snob, and a lover of board/card games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The
Gathering, and Cards Against Humanity.
Jen is also a world traveler, having been to Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Scotland, England,
Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Japan, and a fourth of the US. You can take her out of New York, but you probably can’t
take New York out of Jen.
Page 7
I Kid You Not!
My name is Reba Meserve. My birthday is on
April Fool’s Day. I grew up in Steep Falls, Maine
and moved to Standish when I was in fifth
grade. My fiancé, Andrew, and I just bought our
first home in Steep Falls this past fall. Andrew
and I are currently planning our wedding which
will be in August of this coming summer.
I graduated from Bonny Eagle
High School in 2012 and I
graduated from Wellesley College
in
2016.
I
majored
in
mathematics
and
teacher
education at Wellesley. I loved
my time at Wellesley and I really
enjoyed being close to Boston. Currently, I am a
first-grade teacher at Dayton Consolidated
School. My first year of teaching certainly has
been an adventure. I have 23 active, adorable,
and smart little kiddos. While I was in school, I
spent seven years working at Hannaford
Supermarkets. I spent the past three summers
working for a math camp for middle school
students which was held in Massachusetts,
Oregon, and Minnesota. Those times were some
of my all-time favorite experiences. I love
working with kids, especially preschoolers and
elementary aged students.
I just joined MPCB a few weeks ago! I was
thrilled to find a place for me to start playing my
flute again. Besides playing the flute, I also play
the tenor saxophone, but I do not have as much
experience with that. Other than school bands,
this is my first musical organization that I have
been a part of.
I love rooting for the Red Sox, watching Doctor
Who, going waterskiing, playing games like
bananagrams, eating honey mustard, drinking
peanut butter milkshakes, and riding roller
coasters. I am lucky to have a lot of my family
close by, so I enjoy spending time with them
whenever I can.
NO “Travis”ty
Bob Travis, another euphonium player, was born in
1941 in Westbrook, ME. He now lives in Casco, ME,
but he has also resided in Middletown, CT, Hermosa
Beach, CA, Stoneham, MA, Concord, MA, Berkeley,
CA, and Charlottesville, VA. Bob is married and has
3 children and 4 grandchildren -- all spread between
the East Coast and West Coast! (Let’s
hope his wife is on the East Coast!)
Bob is a graduate of Westbrook
High School and Wesleyan University,
and he’s a devotee of mathematics,
physics, and computer technologies.
He is a retired computer software architect (aka
programmer!)
Bob has played with Maine Pops/Italian Heritage
for about 10 years. He also enjoys playing with
Westbrook City Band, Bridgton Community Band,
Fanfare Concert Band, and Low Commotion (a tuba
quartet), as well as a couple of “wicked fun German
bands.” Bob occasionally sits in with Friends of Kora
Shrine and a few other community bands here and
in Massachusetts. In addition, he's a HUGE fan of
jazz (and other live music), and he loves
photographing at concerts as well as in nature. This
information is not a travesty!
Page 8
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About
Maine Pops’ New Director!
My name is David Watts, and I have been
conducting since the age of 18 (unless you count
that fact that I was conducting Beethoven’s nine
symphonies in my living room at age 12). I’ve
played the piano since age 5, clarinet (age 9), sax
(age 12), euphonium (14), and pipe organ (17).
I’ve also been singing since I was one day old (I'm
told I wasn't very good at that age)!
I was born in West Reading, PA on May 7th, 1961.
I attended Wilson High School in West Lawn, PA, and
continued my education at Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, West Chester (PA)
University, Appraisal Institute (Chicago), St. Joseph's University (ME), and Maine Educators
Consortium/Endicott College. I earned bachelor's degrees in Music Composition and Music
Education, and completed master's level studies in several subject areas: music theory,
educational leadership, commercial real estate valuation and consulting, commercial real
estate management and leasing, finance, and adult education. (I just keep taking more
classes every year - I'll stop when I die!)
I am currently employed as the RSU5 Director of Community Programs (Adult Ed,
Community Ed, Recreation, Pre-K, Before/After Care, Teen Center), as well as the Facilities
Rentals Manager for the Freeport Performing Arts Center (FPAC).
I am also the
organist/pianist at South Freeport Congregational Church.
Previous music-related
employment included: instrumental and general music teacher, Freeport High School; choral,
instrumental, and general music teacher, Greely Middle School and North Yarmouth Memorial
School; instrumental and classroom music teacher, Wilson School District, West Lawn, PA;
hand-bell choir director, Atonement Lutheran Church, Wyomissing, PA; assistant band
director, Cinnaminson High School, Cinnaminson, NJ; and partner/composer, Axis Audio, Inc.,
Philadelphia.
Other than music, I was also previously employed as: Commercial Operations Manager,
Carlino Development Company, Wyomissing, PA; Asst Vice President, CoreStates Bank,
Philadelphia; Asst Vice President, Meridian Bank, Reading, PA; Partner, Nordstrom Watts &
Weinstein Appraisal Group, Reading, PA. I also served as Treasurer of the Maine Music
Educators Association from 2008 to 2015.
As if that weren’t enough, I have toured as a singer/pianist, both as a soloist and with my
own group, doing both covers and originals. I toured from 1985 - 1989, and regionally from
1990 – 2003. While full time, I performed generally 5 days per week, 48 weeks per year. After
cutting back to part-time, I performed generally 40 times per year until I burned out in 2004.
During and after college, I arranged music and wrote drill for several high school bands in
New Jersey and central and eastern PA. About 6 or 7 years ago (I lose track when I’m having
fun), I was invited to take over conducting Chandlers Military Band, and I absolutely love it.
My wife, Tracy, works for Maine Medical Center as a team lead developing the electronic
records management for the operating room teams statewide. Until a couple years ago, she
Page 9
was an oncology nurse for over 25 years, ending as the clinical manager for the women's
cancer center in Scarborough. That's a long time to be in oncology, so it was time for a
change. Tracy and I have three 3 daughters: Bethany, Sarah, Olivia. Bethany lives and works
locally, and is a Christian Ed teacher at South Freeport Congregational Church. Sarah is a
sophomore at the Hartt School of Music. Olivia is a senior this year at Freeport High School
(we live in Freeport). She has been accepted to
five colleges, and we are currently "trying to
figure 'it' out." She will likely attend the Hartt
School of Music, College of St. Rose, or the Mike
Curb College of Entertainment and Music
Business at Belmont University. We have no
grandchildren (yet), but we do have 11 nieces
and nephews, as well as 4 grandnieces and
grandnephews. The picture to the left isn't
great, but it does include me and my daughters
after our last night of performing together in
the Freeport schools after 14 years (on April
11th). I have spent thousands and thousands of
hours on stage there, and April 11th was the end.
I’m sure that you’ll get to know me better (and I, you) as we work together with Maine
Pops, but in the meantime, here are some other interesting facts about me. 1) I don't get to
travel much unless it is for work or family. So I've always spent all of my time off either in
Maine, Pennsylvania or Florida. I have always preferred Maine. 2) I attended a Lutheran
church for most of my adult life in Pennsylvania, but found that Maine is fairly devoid of
Lutherans. So we now attend the South Freeport Congregational Church, close to home. 3)
I am an avid reader - I prefer mysteries, Christian fiction, the Bible, and anything else that
draws me into the meaning, history or people. My favorite authors are John Updike, PL Gaus,
Jan Karon, Philip Gulley, Kent Haruf, Garrison Keillor, Ted Dekker, and William Young. 4) I
love to cook. I hate to bake. I like the creativity of cooking, the experimentation, the passing
of traditions (and of course eating). 5) I love learning about, making and drinking teas and
coffees. I enjoy good red wine. And I've been researching and learning about Scotch. In my
other life, I'm sure I lived as a laird in the highlands of Scotland. 6) I love hiking and getting
to the top of mountains. My two favorite places to be alone are Baxter Peak and anywhere
in Acadia. I also like riding my bike for long periods of time...alone. 7) I work alot. I love
working with kids and creating excitement in learning. I love creating performances and take
a lot of time programming concerts. I do enjoy performing - more so now that I don't have
to. I love performing with my daughters. 8) I guess that's about it!
Page 10