Published September 25. 2026 09:03AM<\/p>\n
The sounds of patriotic marches, Broadway favorites and American classics filled Jordan Lutheran Church Sept. 13 as the Macungie Band welcomed supporters to its annual Barbecue and Beats fundraiser.<\/p>\n
Held at the Orefield church, the evening combined a barbecue dinner, homemade baked goods and a two-hour concert celebrating American music. Under the direction of Michael Moran, the band performed \u201cA Celebration of American Music,\u201d featuring guest artists Alec Rubery, Emily Hill and Ryan Hill.<\/p>\n
Guests enjoyed a barbecue meal with all the traditional fixings before settling in for an evening of music. The concert opened with Bill Moffit\u2019s arrangement of \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner\u201d and featured a variety of selections highlighting American composers and musical traditions.<\/p>\n
Among the featured performers was trumpeter Alec Rubery, a 2023 Freedom High School graduate who is now a senior at Kutztown University studying commercial music. Rubery joined the band for two solo selections, showcasing his talent before an appreciative audience.<\/p>\n
Vocalist Emily Hill, also a Freedom High School graduate, was featured on \u201cBut Not for Me\u201d by George and Ira Gershwin, arranged by Warren Barker. Hill teaches music at East Hills Middle School in Bethlehem, sings with the Bach Choir and is pursuing a master\u2019s degree in music education at Kutztown University.<\/p>\n
Pianist Ryan Hill of Easton performed George Gershwin\u2019s beloved \u201cRhapsody in Blue,\u201d one of the evening\u2019s highlights. Hill teaches music production at Liberty High School in Bethlehem and is also working toward a master\u2019s degree in music education at Kutztown University.<\/p>\n
Following intermission, the band performed Anthony Susi\u2019s \u201cFirst Responders March\u201d before continuing the patriotic and American-themed program. The concert concluded with John Philip Sousa\u2019s enduring classic, \u201cThe Stars and Stripes Forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Programs for the event were provided by Kathy Harris Custom Frame Shop.<\/p>\n
Barbecue and Beats began more than five years ago and has grown into one of the band\u2019s most important annual fundraisers. The event was organized by Tim Lichtenwalner, who plays tuba with the Macungie Band.<\/p>\n
The Macungie Band\u2019s performance season will continue Oct. 10 at Luther Crest in Allentown. both in Allentown.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTOS BY LISA DRAPERThe Macungie Band performs \u201cA Celebration of American Music\u201d at its Barbecue and Beats annual fundraiser at Jordan Lutheran Church, Orefield, Sept. 13.<\/p>\n
Alec Rubery performs on the trumpet with the Macungie Band under the direction of Michael Moran.<\/p>\n
East Hills music teacher and Bach Choir member Emily Hill of Bethlehem performs \u201cBut Not For Me\u201d by George and Ira Gershwin with arrangement by Warren Barker.<\/p>\n
Press photos by Lisa DraperPianist Ryan Hill of Easton, who teaches music production at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, performs with the Macungie Band.<\/p>\n
Micah Bickel and Karen Lichtenwalner join the Geiger Family of volunteers (Adam, Evan, Erin, Joel and Eli) serving up the barbecue and sides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published September 25. 2026 09:03AM The sounds of patriotic marches, Broadway favorites and American classics filled Jordan Lutheran…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-293751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}