Nassau Pops to play at Village Green

The Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra will return to the band shell on the Village Green on July 22 to perform famed music from Broadway musicals, television and movies.

The concert, part of the village’s annual Summer Concert Series, will begin at 8 p.m. at the band shell at the Village Green.

The series, which welcomes new performers to the band shell each Wednesday in July and August for a free concert, has been a staple in the village for more than three decades. Already this summer, Risky Business has brought the sound of 50’s and 60’s Motown and disco music, and hosted an Irish Heritage night.

SixGun will play country music on July 29; Something, a tribute to the Beatles, will perform on August 5; John Kuse and the Excellents, a doo-wop group, will perform on Aug. 12; and tribute groups the Rat Pack and Motown will perform on Aug. 19 and 26, respectively. There will also be performances by the Valley Stream Community Band each Tuesday, and by the District Symphony Orchestra each Thursday through the month of August.

At the Nassau Pops performance on July 22, the orchestra, led by conductor Louis Panacciulli, will perform popular classical music standards and favorites. They will also be joined on stage by singers Jack and Ann Cassin, who have performed with the pops for more than 25 years, will perform classic selections from favorite television shows, movies and Broadway musicals. They will also feature songs from the catalogue of Frank Sinatra, in honor of the singer’s 100th birthday.

It is the third consecutive summer that the Pops will visit the band shell. For Panacciulli, the visits to Valley Stream are a type of homecoming, as he retired as the band director at Howell Road Elementary School in District 13 earlier this year.

“I absolutely enjoy playing there each year,” he said. “I actually directed the district orchestra for 10 years during my time as a teacher there…It’s always great to be back, and it’s great fun.”

Panacciulli and managing director Dawn Manuel founded the Pops in 1984 with the aim of developing a local orchestra devoted to the performance of light classical and popular music. Each summer, the group performs a concert series at different venues around Long Island, in an effort to thank residents for their support and raise appreciation for classical music.

The group celebrated its 30-year anniversary last year by partnering with television personality and Levittown native Bill O’Reilly for a charity performance in support of The Independence Fund’s Track Chair Program. All ticket sales were donated to the program, which purchases rehabilitation equipment for disabled military veterans.