The Moore County Concert Band will begin its 25th year of entertaining Moore County residents with a concert on Nov. 12, at 2 p.m., in the Grand Ballroom of the Carolina Hotel.

Director David Seiberling will conduct the band.

"The program will be based on the type and style of music our audiences have enjoyed in the past and will feature soloists, marches, overtures, opera and Broadway," he says.

Many in the audience will not realize that the band's earliest concerts were held in the Carolina Hotel's Cardinal Ballroom, regional middle schools, Mid-Pines, the Elks Lodge, outdoors and anywhere else that was available on the desired date. Concerts were not always free. Admission was typically $3 or $4. Band membership has ranged from 30 to more than 60. Two musicians in the current band, Jerry Mashburn and Bud Deibler have been members for the entire 25 years.

The Nov. 12 concert will feature two soloists. Robin Lynne Frye, a mezzo-soprano from Aberdeen will perform "Habanera" and "Seguidilla" from Bizet's "Carmen." Frye, a concert repertoire specialist, had a Manhattan-based singing career spanning 21 years. She has appeared as a soloist in all of New York's major concert halls and has performed with ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, receiving widespread critical acclaim. She relocated to North Carolina in 2002 and teaches at Methodist College; she has been a faculty member at UNC-Pembroke

Dr. Timothy Altman, a trumpeter, will play "The Carnival of Venice" and a lovely ballad, "Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms." Altman earned his D.M.A. in trumpet performance from the University of Kentucky. He earned music education degrees from Virginia Tech and University of Wisconsin. He is currently director of bands at UNC-Pembroke. Altman is an active performer and conductor. He has performed with the Roanoke Symphony and is currently a member of the Fayetteville Symphony. He has performed with Doc Severenson, The Four Tops, The Temptations and many others. He and his family reside in Laurinburg.

The band will perform the overture, "Donna Diana," by Emil von Reznicek. The audience will recognize this piece even if they don't think they know it. It was the signature tune for the old radio program, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon." Broadway will be featured with music from Rogers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific." There are also three marches on the program, "Picadore" by Sousa, "Officer of the Day" by R. B. Hall and "The Carolina" composed by the band's director, David Seiberling, and dedicated to the Carolina Hotel and the people who have supported the band.

Dates for the remainder of the 2006-07 concert season are Dec. 10 (Christmas Concert at SCC Owens Auditorium), March 4, May 27, and July 4, in the Grand Ballroom, Carolina Hotel.

The band is always interested in new members. If you would like to join the band or have any other questions about the band, call 910-295-9023 or visit the band's Web site at www.moorecountyband.com.