Dominick Ferrara III, Conductor

Sunday, April 29, 2012 Bloomfield Middle School

3:00 P.M. Bloomfield, New Jersey

Program

National Emblem March……………………………Edwin E. Bagley

Miles A. Suarez Post 711 Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Color Guard

Pledge of Allegiance Girl Scouts of America

Star Spangled Banner…………………………John Stafford Smith

Janet Villa

Opening Welcome……………………………………Raymond McCarthy, Mayor

Happy Birthday Bloomfield, New Jersey!

Bloomfield, U. S. A…………………………Peter Antonelli

Audience Participation Sing a Long

Narrative

Colonial Rhapsody………………………………Edward Madden

Hey, Betty Martin; A Free America; British Grenadier:

The Girl I Left Behind; Yankee Doodle: Hail Columbia;

O Yankee Man O War; Chester

Narrative

A Lincoln Portrait……………………………Aaron Copland

Narrated by Carmen Artis and John Hammel

Blue and the Gray………………………………Clare Grundman

Kingdom Comin’; Marching Thru Georgia; Tenting Tonight;

Yellow Rose of Texas; Bonnie Blue Flag; Aura Lee; Dixie;

Battle Cry of Freedom; Battle Hymn of the Republic

Narrator

American Folk Rhapsody……………………Clare Grundman

My Little Mohee; Shanty Man’s Life; Sourwood Mountain;

Sweet Betsy from Pike

Intermission

Parading Green March……………………………Dominick Ferrara 1984

Narrative

Star Spangled Spectacular………………George M. Cohan arr. John Cacavas

Mary’s A Grand Old Name; Give My Regards To Broadway;

Forty Five Minutes from Broadway; Yankee Doodle Dandy;

You’re A Grand Old Flag

Twentiana…………………………………………………………Hawley Ades

I Want to Be Happy; I’m Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover;

Carolina in the Morning; Bye, Bye Blackbird; Charleston;

Tea for Two; Hallelujah;

Narrative

The Homefront………………………………………………James Christensen

It’s been A Long, Long Time; Thanks for the Memory;

Bell Bottom Trousers; There’ll be Blue Birds over The White Cliffs Of Dover;

I’ll Be seeing You; Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree With Anyone Else But Me;

Praise the Lord And Pass The Ammunition

Narrative

Tribute to Irving Berlin………….…………arr. Warren Barker

There’s No Business Like Show Business; Steppin’ Out With My Baby;

A Pretty Girl; this Is The Army Mr. Jones; Blue Skies;

Doin’ What Comes Naturally; You’re Just In Love; Easter Parade; Always;

When the Midnight Choo, Choo Leaves For Alabam’;

White Christmas; God Bless America

Stars And Stripes Forever March……………………John Philip Sousa

The Bloomfield Civic Band has been a community mainstay since 1946. Its members hail from communities throughout Essex, Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Union, Morris and Sussex counties. Credit Michelle Lee

Dominick Ferrara III, of Bloomfield, has been the conductor of the Bloomfield Civic Band since 1972. Credit Michelle Lee

Tuba players performing in the Bloomfield Civic Band. From left, Marc Bernstein, of New Providence, Union County, Bob Norman, of Butler, Morris County, and Milton Fitzgerald, of Bloomfield. Credit Michelle Lee

Dominick Ferrara III, of Bloomfield, has been the conductor of the Bloomfield Civic Band since 1972. Credit Michelle Lee

The Bloomfield Civic Band has been playing music since its founding in 1946. In the center left, Patrick Walsh, of Passaic County, plays the euphonium. The musicians from the back row include drummer Peter Davis, of Bloomingdale, Passaic County, Marjorie Catania, of Bloomingdale, Kristen Gennings, of Bloomfield, Doug Fine, William Anderson, Richard Abate, of Wayne, and James Bogle of East Brunswick. Credit Michelle Lee

The flute section of the Bloomfield Civic Band. From center left, Heather Evers, of Caldwell, Emily Jones, of Bloomfield, and Gail Berkshire, of Pompton Plains, Morris County. Credit Michelle Lee

By Michelle Lee

To some people, band music is merely a pastime. To others, however, it can be a way of life.
The Bloomfield Civic Band has delighted audiences for decades with a mixture of marches, patriotic music, classical works and other pieces.

The band will perform tonight at 7 p.m. outside the Bloomfield Public Library, located at 90 Broad St. in Bloomfield. The event is free and open to the public.

The group was founded in 1946 by then township Recreation Commissioner C.A. “Doc” Emmons as an opportunity for adult musicians and returning World War II veterans to perform.

While the organization has undergone many changes over the years in terms of players, the tradition of performing public concerts and the Monday rehearsals still remains the same, conductor Dominick Ferrara III said.

The Bloomfield Civic Band currently has about 45 members and they come from various parts of Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Bergen, Morris, Union and Sussex counties.

Ferrara, who has been the conductor since 1972, compares the civic band to a family. He knows everyone within the group and all of the players are friendly with one another. “Even though we play music, it’s like a Monday night ritual,” he said about practicing inside Bloomfield Middle School.

The civic band’s performance year spans from September to July with indoor and outdoor concerts. In December, the band collaborates with Miss Roseanna’s School of Dance for a holiday performance.

Ferrara, 72, of Bloomfield, said he tries to keep the musical repertoire as varied as possible and no two concerts are alike. Trademark band pieces, such as John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” can be played in the same program as selections from the Broadway musical “Cabaret” and the opera “Merry Wives of Windsor.” Other notable pieces the band has performed include the 1812 Overture, a tribute to George M. Cohan and suites by Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Paul Alongi Sr., a tenor sax player and president of the civic band, has played in the group for 36 years and performed with other professional bands for 63 years. Alongi, 78, calls the civic band “the second love of my life. I love to play and Dominick does a great job with selection,” Alongi said. “A lot of music is a challenge and when you’re a musician, you like to play up to the challenges. You’re playing everything and it’s good for you because you learn to play and sight-read everything.”

Alongi also highlighted the wide diversity of musical groups within the township, which include the Bloomfield Youth Band, the Bloomfield Chorale, the Bloomfield Symphonic Orchestra and the Bloomfield Mandolin Orchestra.

“If you look across the country, we’re one of the oldest running community bands – 64 years. It’s anomaly you have a municipality with a band and so many groups,” Alongi said.

Ferrara said the group is always looking for new members, especially musicians who play the French horn, euphonium, trombone and clarinet.

Here is a list of our rehearsal dates for 2012:

January 9, 23, 30
February 6, 13, (20 at the Civic Center), 27
March 5, 12, 19, 26
April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
May 7, 13, 21
June 4, 11, 18

If you’re interested in joining the band, please contact our conductor, Dominick Ferrara at CW4DJF@aol.com.

The annual Bloomfield Civic Band Holiday Concert will be taking place at the Bloomfield Middle School on December 4th at 3pm.

All are welcome to attend and enjoy some holiday cheer! Santa always makes an appearance so the kids will be in for a surprise!

Selections performed by the Civic Band:
Dominick Ferrara III, Conductor

“Farandole” from L’ Arlesienne Suite – George Bizet
“Sleigh Ride” – Leroy Anderson
“And the Mountains Echoed: Gloria”– Robert Longfield
“Fireside Christmas” – Sammy Nestico
“Hallelujah Chorus” – George Frederick Handel
“The Night Before Christmas” – Clement Clarke Moore
Narrated by Mayor Raymond McCarthy

Miss Roseanna’s School of Dance Group with Civic Band accompaniment:

“La Boutique Fantastique” (Fantastic Toy Shop) – Rossini/Respighi
Two Dances from the Nutcracker Suite – Peter Tchaikovsky
“Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” – Leon Jessel
“March of the Toys” – Victor Herbert

The Bloomfield Chorus will also be performing holiday selections at this concert

Star Spangled Banner
Amazing Grace
Abide With Me
Nearer My god To thee
Navy Hymn
God Bless America

Click Here for a Video of the Ceremony

Click here for full NorthJersey.com article

FILE PHOTO - The son of Daniel Rosetti visits the township’s Sept. 11 memorial during ceremonies in 2003.

Ceremony in Bloomfield to mark 10 years since America’s darkest day

Thursday, September 8, 2011
BY JEFF FRANKEL
Bloomfield Life

Nearly 3,000 people died a decade ago Sunday in the deadliest attack on American soil.

This Sunday marks exactly 10 years since the day that changed America forever. And just like the past nine years, the Township of Bloomfield is hosting a memorial ceremony on the town green.

This year is even more poignant, with the unveiling of the National September 11 Memorial at the footprints of the Twin Towers.

Bloomfield lost three residents on Sept. 11, 2001: Catherine A. Nardella, Daniel Rosetti and Cesar A. Alviar.

The municipality’s ceremony will be held Sunday at 10 a.m. on the green. It will feature an invocation by a Sacred Heart Church clergy member, remarks from Mayor Raymond McCarthy and patriotic songs by the Bloomfield Civic Band.

A wreath dedication follows, and the American flag will be presented to the three families in tribute, says Michael Sceurman, assistant recreation department director and event organizer.

Nardella, 40 at the time, worked as an insurance consultant with Aon Corp in the south tower. A Lincoln Park native, she lived alone in Bloomfield. She was very active at St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church.

A carpenter by trade, Rosetti, 32, was in his second and final day completing a project for Aon Corp. on the 105th floor of the south tower. He left behind his fiancée, now Christine Jinesta (nee Bennett), and their 14-month-old son, Justin.

United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the southern façade of the south tower between the 77th and 85th floors. Aon’s officers were located on the 92nd and 98th through 105th floors, above the impact point.

Alviar, 60, served as an accountant with Marsh & McLennan on the 94th floor of the north tower. He left behind his wife, Grace, and daughter, Gemma.

Alviar’s company occupied eight offices between the 93rd and 100th floors. When American Airlines Flight 11 hit the building, it breached nearly the entire company’s offices. No one there at the time survived; the company lost 295 employees and 63 contractors.

A new Bloomfield 9/11 memorial is being unveiled in conjunction with the re-opening of Foley Field on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. (tonight). Its centerpiece is a 900-lb., 16-foot steel beam from the World Trade Center. The piece was brought to Bloomfield via the efforts of Schools Superintendent Jason Bing and Bloomfield Volunteer Emergency Squad first responder Charles Giles.

Program for July 11, 2011 Concert:

“Washington Post March” – John Philip Sousa
“Ingelsina (Little English Girl) March” – David Della Cese
“On the Square March” – Frank Panella
“Manx Overture” – Haydn Wood
“Leroy Anderson Portrait” – James Christensen
“The Thunderer March” – John Philip Sousa
“Merry Wives of Windsor Overture” – Otto Nicolai
“Cabaret Selections” – John Kander
“Stars and Stripes Forever” – John Philip Sousa

Bloomfield High School