American music at Botanical Garden

The Queens Botanical Garden will host two free concerts featuring the Queens Festival Band on Sunday, July 27 and Sunday, August 10, both of which will highlight American music.
The Queens Festival Band was first formed in 1898 as the Seuffert Band by bank executive and concert violinist George Seuffert, Sr. It was later taken over by Seorge Seuffert, Jr. When he passed away in 1995 the band was briefly disbanded. However, Michael Canipe, now its conductor, and other members brought it back to life in 1996, calling it the Queens Festival Band. It now has 27 members.
“The concert band is a traditional performing ensemble that is an original American concept,” Canipe said. “Our goal is to keep this tradition alive by performing music composed or arranged for this particular instrumentation of brass woodwinds and percussion.”
The two free upcoming concerts at the Queens Botanical Garden will feature American music spanning three centuries. Some of the composers who will be included in the show are William Billings, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, George Frideric Handel, John Philip Sousa, and Morton Gould. Rodgers and Gould were both residents of Queens.
Admission to the concerts, which will be held in the terrace, is free. The garden is encouraging those attending the concert to come early and bring lawn chairs.
The Queens Botanical Garden is located at 43-50 Main Street in Flushing. For more information, call 718-886-3800 or visit www.queensbotanicalgarden.org.