“The Allentown Band is very proud of its educational youth outreach programs presented annually at Miller Symphony Hall,” says Ronald Demkee, Allentown Band Conductor.

“This year’s concert demonstrates the evolution of the American concert band from fifes and drums to a brass band with brass and percussion instruments to the current instrumentation of the modern-day concert band,” Demkee says.

Allentown Band Family Concert: “America 250: Evolution of the Concert Band,” 2 p.m. Oct. 17, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown. The concert will be presented to Lehigh Valley school students, 10 a.m. Oct. 15 and 16.

The concert opens with a demonstration of concert band instruments in the performance of works that include the popular Colonial Era song “Yankee Doodle.”

A notice of July 10, 1822, reported that on July 4, 1822, the Allentown Military Band comprised of fifes and drums performed patriotic selections.

To showcase the instruments and music of the Colonial Era, members of the Freedom High School Fife and Drum Corps perform “The White Cockade” and “Yankee Doodle.”

“The Freedom Fife and Drum Corps is proud to be a part of this event to celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary and to help educate young musicians on the significance of the fife in our nation’s history,” says Michael Moran, Freedom High School Band and Orchestra Director.

Says Demkee, “As was the case in towns across America, the Allentown Band was a brass band for most of the 19th century as demonstrated in performance of Thomas Coates’ ‘Northampton Quickstep’ on brass instruments and rope tension drums.”

With the introduction of new and refined instruments, today’s concert band is a dynamic large-scale ensemble comprised of woodwinds, brass and percussion performing music of all eras and entertaining audiences of all ages.

Additional concert selections include “Concord Overture” by Clare Grundman, Morton Gould’s “American Salute,” “American Pageant” by Thomas Knox and John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

Organized in 1967, the Freedom High School Fife and Drum Corps is a specialized, year-round ensemble associated with the Patriot Marching Band of Freedom High School, Bethlehem.

Michael Moran has been Band and Orchestra Director since 1998 and is the Freedom High School Fine and Practical Arts Department Chair. He is conductor of the Macungie Band, performs trombone in the Allentown Band and is a member of the Silver and Brass Trombone Quartet. He received a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from West Chester University.

Allentown Band Family Concert: “America 250: Evolution of the Concert Band,” 2 p.m. Oct. 17, Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown. Free tickets for those 21 and under. Tickets: at the box office; 610-432-6715; https://www.millersymphonyhall.org

“Our opening concert highlights all the colors of the orchestra with music of Felix Mendelssohn, Gabriel Faure and Ottorino Respighi,” says Michael Avagliano, Music Director of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra.

Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra presents its 2026-’27 season opener, “Fall Colors,” 3 p.m. Oct 18, Foy Concert Hall, Moravian University, Bethlehem.

Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances” comprises three colorful orchestral suites based on lute and guitar music of the Renaissance era. The concert opens with the first suite composed in 1917, which includes works by lutenists Simon Molinaro (c. 1570-1636) and Vincent Galilei (1520-1591), father of renowned astronomer Galileo.

Mostly known for his piano and chamber works, Gabriel Faure wrote the incidental music for a London stage production from which he later created the four-movement “Pelleas et Melisande Suite,” evoking mystery, romance and melancholy.

Inspired by his 1829 walking tour of Scotland, Felix Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 3 in A minor, ‘Scottish,’ Op.56,” evokes a misty Scottish landscape, rural dances, a lament and ends with a triumphant hymn of celebration.

Largely inspired to become a conductor after a chance meeting with Leonard Bernstein, Michael Avagliano conducts his debut concert as Music Director of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, continuing to draw inspiration from the legendary maestro’s twin legacies: exuberant musicianship and a devotion to broadening classical music audiences.

Avagliano is Music Director of Somerset Symphony Orchestra, Summit Symphony Orchestra, August Symphony and Conductor-Director, Drew University Orchestra.

He received a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from Rutgers University.

Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, “Fall Colors,” 3 p.m.; pre-concert talk, 2 p.m. Oct 18, Foy Concert Hall, Moravian University, 342 Main St., Bethlehem. Free tickets for students. Tickets: PSO Office, 1524 West Linden St., Allentown; 610-434-7811; https://www.pasinfonia.org/

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com