The Montgomery County Concert Band invites you to their 30th anniversary celebration concert featuring a variety of energetic band favorites, on Sunday November 23 at 3 p.m. at Souderton HS, in Souderton, PA, where the ensemble will premiere its fourth-ever commission in honor of 30 years of music making. Admission is free. Free will donations are accepted and appreciated. For more information go to https://montcoband.org.
HISTORY OF MCCB
A fully self-supporting 501c(3) nonprofit that depends entirely on public donations, MCCB was founded in April 1995 by Stephen Frederick and Paul Ferla. Frederick was an inspired music educator, band director, and principal at North Penn High School who also served as executive consultant to the U.S. Scholastic Band Association (now USBands). Ferla was a trombonist for the U.S. Navy Band and founder of the Pennsylvania Dance Swing Band and the German Music Great American Brass Band. The duo—who believed that the community would embrace a local band—envisioned a lively ensemble to instill an appreciation of the concert band tradition within the Lansdale area.
In the summer of 1995, MCCB presented its very first concert at Peter Becker Community under the direction of Frederick. The debut program included several well-known pieces from classic band literature, including John Phillip Sousa’s “King Cotton” march. Frederick retained his post as inaugural director until his death in 2013; he conducted his final concert just two weeks before he passed away. Following Frederick’s death, tubist and charter member Charles Neidhardt—who had previously served as assistant conductor—was appointed director in 2014. A past president of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA), Neidhardt brings an impressive array of experience to the podium. He taught music in several local schools before serving as Music Department chairperson for Methacton School District until his retirement in 2005; just this year, he was inducted into the PMEA Hall of Fame.
MCCB currently includes a total of nine charter members. Along with these original players, the band comprises many core musicians who have performed with MCCB for more than 15 years — a testament to the ensemble’s staying power. Assistant director Ryan Pongras, who joined MCCB in 2005 as a trumpet player, is one such individual. Pongras has served as assistant director since 2014 and teaches fourth- and fifth-grade instrumental music in the Souderton Area School District. Under Neidhardt and Pongras’ leadership, MCCB has grown steadily in both membership and influence. The band’s nearly 80 members come from all walks of life, from professional musicians and music educators to scientists and healthcare workers. They range in age from high school students to retirees. Some join the ensemble to rekindle their appreciation of live music beyond the school setting, and many also perform with other community bands and orchestras throughout Pennsylvania.
The ensemble’s repertoire spans a wide range of music, from standard and contemporary literature to classical transcriptions, Broadway showtunes, classic marches, and patriotic medleys. MCCB maintains an active YouTube channel, where its 2016 rendition of Robert W. Smith’s “The Great Locomotive Chase” has been viewed more than 460,000 times. Over the years, the band has accompanied a variety of guest soloists, including Carol Jantsch—principal tubist of the Philadelphia Orchestra—as well as jazz saxophonist Andrew Neu and trombonist Scott Shelsta. Many local artists continue to take the stage. In 2023, John Wernega—musical arranger for the Fralinger String Band, a multi-year winner of Philadelphia’s annual Mummers Parade—accompanied MCCB on accordion for Toshio Mashima’s “Paris Montmartre.” In 2024, longtime Montgomery County resident Bradley Mills was featured on electric guitar for James Bonney’s “Chaos Theory.” And earlier this year, the ensemble performed George Gershwin’s famed “Rhapsody in Blue” with guest pianist Kristin Ditlow for Souderton Community Park’s “Concert Sundaes” summer series.
Since 1999, MCCB has collaborated with the borough of Lansdale to present an official “TubaChristmas” celebration that unites more than 70 tuba, sousaphone, euphonium, and baritone players from the tri-state area. The yearly event takes place on the first Sunday of December and is a fan favorite within the community, as is the group’s “Horns of Hanukkah” event for French horn players. Beyond its home base of Lansdale and the North Penn region, MCCB has performed twice at the Association of Concert Bands’ (ACB) annual convention and four times at PMEA’s Annual In-Service Conference. At PMEA’s 2014 conference in Hershey, Pa., the band premiered “Blue Elegy” — an exciting piece by Travis Weller in memory of Frederick’s tenure as founding director. In 2017, the ensemble was awarded the Sudler Silver Scroll from the John Phillip Sousa Foundation for community band excellence. They have been invited to perform again in 2026 at the ACB Conference and the PMEA State Conference.
MCCB remains deeply committed to the future of concert band music and consistently attracts new participants as others retire; in fact, 44 percent of its current musicians joined within the last five years. As the group prepares to embark on its 31st season, members look forward to continuing to share live music within Montgomery County and beyond.
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