Published December 17. 2025 02:42AM<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Bethlehem Municipal Band Christmas concert is one of sadness and celebration.<\/p>\n
Having served as the Bethlehem Municipal Band Conductor for 36 years, Don Kemmerer is retiring his baton.<\/p>\n
The Bethlehem Municipal Band presents its \u201cChristmas Concert\u201d at 7 p.m. Dec. 17, Northeast Middle School, Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon has dedicated a large part of his life to this band,\u201d says Holly Ehrenfried, Bethlehem Municipal Band President.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe worked exceptionally hard to develop a band that would be enjoyable for the musicians and could put on a top-quality performance,\u201d Ehrenfried says.<\/p>\n
For the Christmas concert, Kemmerer shares the podium with Bethlehem Municipal Band Assistant Conductor Bill Nazzaro and Bethlehem Municipal Band Conductor-Elect David Crosby.<\/p>\n
Kemmerer opens the concert with a vibrant 16th century work, \u201cGaudete,\u201d followed by \u201cRussian Christmas Music,\u201d a masterpiece which conveys the sounds of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music and Kemmerer\u2019s arrangement of \u201cMary Did You Know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nazzaro conducts \u201cOverture on Miracle on 34th Street,\u201d \u201cMidnight in Bethlehem,\u201d \u201cGrown-up Christmas List,\u201d \u201cJingle Bell Jazz,\u201d \u201cChristmas from the 50s,\u201d \u201cYuletide Tapestry\u201d and \u201cEmmanuel Variants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additional selections include \u201cMinor Alterations No. 2,\u201d \u201cLet It Snow\u201d and \u201cChristmas Pops Sing-Along,\u201d conducted by Kemmerer.<\/p>\n
Crosby closes the concert with Leroy Anderson\u2019s popular \u201cSleigh Ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soloists include vocalists Frank Gregory, Amelia Gamble and Chelsea Reed; Ken Gross, trumpet, and Keith Troxell, alto saxophone.<\/p>\n
Says Ehrenfried, \u201cDon will be missed on the podium. Because of his dedication and hard work, his presence will be felt for many years with each note this band plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bethlehem native Kemmerer has been a member of the Bethlehem Municipal Band for more than 40 years, serving as conductor since 1989.<\/p>\n
He is a member of the American Federation of Musicians and Past President of the Pennsylvania Bandmasters Association.<\/p>\n
He is a graduate of West Chester University with majors in trumpet and French horn.<\/p>\n
Nazzaro, a tuba player, has been a member of the Bethlehem Municipal Band since 2021. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and masters degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and DePaul University.<\/p>\n
Crosby received a degree in music education from Montclair State University, where he studied instrumental and vocal music.<\/p>\n
The Bethlehem Municipal Band was founded in 1935. Four conductors have led the organization during its 75-year history: founding member Joseph Ricapito, 1935-1965; Ray Huston, 1965-1968; Bernard Beitel, 1968-1989, and Kemmerer, 1989-2025.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem Municipal Band, \u201cChristmas Concert,\u201d 7 p.m. Dec. 17, Northeast Middle School, 1170 Fernwood St., Bethlehem; Tickets: https:\/\/www.cityband.org\/<\/p>\n
\u201cClassical View\u201d is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com<\/p>\n
Don Kemmerer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published December 17. 2025 02:42AM This year\u2019s Bethlehem Municipal Band Christmas concert is one of sadness and celebration.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-63120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63120","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=63120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}