The Marine Band of Allentown has announced that 2013 Weatherly Area High School graduate Laura Palmer will be a featured soloist at a concert on Friday, Aug. 16, at West Park in Allentown.

This summer, the band has been featuring outstanding youth musicians from the Lehigh Valley and beyond, and Miss Palmer will be performing the "Concertino for Flute" by Cecile Chaminade.Palmer is the daughter of Julius and Joan Palmer of Weatherly, and will be majoring in Music Therapy at Temple University. While in high school, she was selected to the Carbon County Band for 4 years; Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 10 Band four years; PMEA District 10 Orchestra one year; PMEA Region V Band two years; and PMEA All State Band one year.She has also been a member of the Hazleton Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra for the past 8 years and has participated in the Pennsylvania All-State Lions Band.Also soloing on the program will be Keven Oates, a 2013 graduate of the Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Performing Arts and a member of the Marine Band.Oates will perform the Herbert L. Clarke version of "Carnival of Venice" on the baritone horn. Mr. Oates is the son of Cathy and Keven Oates, Sr., of Levittown, and will major in Music Performance at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.He was the principal trumpet in the LVPA orchestra and wind ensemble, and seamlessly transitioned to baritone horn just four months ago.In addition to joining the Marine Band of Allentown, he has been playing jazz combo gigs throughout Allentown, Bethlehem, and Macungie.Aside from the solos, the theme of the concert will be music from the 60s and 70s. Conductor Tom Heinick has chosen a fun program that will surely stir great memories for those who were around at that time, and will appeal to the younger set as well.Included on the program is music from Led Zeppelin, Simon and Garfunkel, the Bee Gees, Chicago, and more.The Marine Band of Allentown was formed in 1903 and is one of four professional concert bands in Allentown, which led to Allentown being proclaimed Band City, USA, in the 1970s. Each year the band plays a spring concert, a Christmas concert, and several concerts throughout the summer at West Park and other venues.West Park is located between Linden and Turner Streets at 16th street in Allentown. It is an outdoor venue, so bring along chairs or there are plenty of benches as well. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and is free; in the event of rain, check the Facebook page for postponement information.