The Boys and Girls Band of Lehighton and Lehighton Band will present a concert at 7 p.m. Thursday for the Celebration of Lehighton's Sesquicentennial in the Lehighton Park Amphitheater.

The program will begin with the Boys and Girls Band under the direction of Alyssa Schoch.Members of the current band will be joined by alumni of the band from years past to provide music for the opening of the concert.The band will begin with "Arrowhead" by popular concert band music composer and arranger, Robert W. Smith.The second number, "A Rachmaninoff Portrait," is arranged by Eric Osterling, and is the theme from "Second Piano Concert.""Freedom's Way" by Lloyd Conley will follow, with the band's final piece, "Spring Festival Overture" by James Hosay.As a special treat, Boys and Girls alumnus Peter Petrack who graduated from Moravian College in May with a degree in music performance and composition, will present a trombone solo called "Atlantic Zephyrs" by Ardel Simons.He will be accompanied on piano by another boys and girls alumnus, Laura Cressley, who graduated from Kutztown University in May with a degree in music education.The second portion of the concert will be presented by the Lehighton Band under the direction of Bradly R. Cressley.The concert will be mostly patriotic in nature with other music that is very "American" in nature.The band will open with the national anthem, and then continue with John Philip Sousa's "The Liberty Bell March."The Star Spangled Spectacular features the music of George M. Cohan. Suppe's "Light Calvary" is the overture for the evening concert.Ty Sharrow, a Lehighton Area High School senior, will present an alto sax solo, "Over the Rainbow," from "The Wizard of Oz."The

U.V.O. Color Guard will be present as the band honors local veterans and current servicemen and women.The band will play Bob Lowden's "Armed Forces Salute," while the color guard will present the flags from the various branches of the United States Armed Services. Veterans and active service members will be asked to stand and be recognized as their service song is played.Also featured in the concert are "Cake Walk for Band," "'American Folk Fantasy," and the hymn "Glorious Things of thee are Spoken.""Decision '76" is a piece of music written by Henry Mancini that was written for the presidential election back in 1976 when Lehighton, like the rest of the country, was celebrating the bicentennial.The band will then play one of Sousa's less famous marches, entitled the "Sesquicentennial Exposition March," which seems quite appropriate for Lehighton's celebration.Billy Joel continues to be one of America's favorite performers of pop music, so the band will continue with Billy Joel in concert, which includes "Movin' Out." "Piano Man," "Just the Way You Are," and "Only the Good Die Young."The band will finish with our country's national march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever," by John Phillips Sousa.The concert is free.In the event of rain, the concert will be held at the Boys and Girls Band Hall at Sixth and Cypress streets, Lehighton.