Seven years ago, the Pensacola Civic Band partnered with the City of Pensacola to create a free concert event honoring the bravery and sacrifice of American veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Services. Pensacola’s annual Memorial Day concert has been a season highlight for band members and the Pensacola community. For the last two years the concert has not been held due to the global pandemic. This year the Annual Pensacola Memorial Day concert is back and is packed with great music and special guest conductor, Pensacola resident and Pearl Harbor Survivor, Frank Emond.
At 104 years old, Mr. Emond will break his own record once again that he set back in 2019 when he conducted the Pensacola Civic Band and was named the oldest conductor with Guinness World Records. Originally from Rhode Island, Mr. Emond enlisted in the Navy in 1938 as a musician. He played French Horn for the ship’s band and even got to perform at the 1938 World’s Fair in New York before he was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania in Hawaii in the summer of 1941. As the sun rose on December 7, 1941, Emond was preparing for morning colors and the raising of the American flag. That’s when Emond noticed the hundreds of Japanese planes that filled the sky followed by the sound of torpedoes striking the ships docked at Pearl Harbor.
This event is sponsored together by the Pensacola Civic Band, the City of Pensacola, and TLC Caregivers and is held at the Hunter Amphitheater at Community Maritime Park. The Memorial Day program directed by Pensacola Civic Band director, Doug Holsworth, will entertain the audience with a number of patriotic selections that reflect on our nation’s history, including the premiere of the Emerald Coast March composed by the band’s own Jeff Henderson. Frank Emond, who will have just celebrated his 104th birthday, will conduct the National Anthem to kick off the show.
This free concert event begins at 6 p.m. on Monday May 30. Attendees should bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating. Several vendors will be onsite with food and beverage available for purchase. For more information, please visit pensacolaremembers.org or call Pensacola State College at 850-484-1847.
The concert is made possible by the generous partnerships and donations of the Pensacola Civic Band, The City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department, Pensacola State College, and TLC Caregivers.