Musicians representing five Westmoreland County community bands will perform patriotic concerts at the Flight 93 Memorial and in Gettysburg this month.

“Sitting beside people you don’t know, pulling out a sheet of music and giving a beautiful performance is the thing I love most,” said Patti Marco, an Allegheny Township resident and member of the Kiski Valley Community Band who will direct the performances. “And dedicating that to people who gave their lives for freedom, that’s something we’re honored to share with everyone.”

Marco will direct musicians from her group along with the Delmont Concert Band, Jeannette Community Band, Penn-Trafford Community Band and Scottdale Concert Band.

“We did something similar in 2019 in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, playing at the World War II Memorial and other places, including a military retirement home,” Marco said.

The combined community band will play at 10 a.m. Aug. 27 at the Flight 93 Memorial Plaza in Somerset County before heading farther east for a 4 p.m. concert at Gettysburg Battlefield Visitor Center. On Aug. 28, they will play a 3 p.m. concert at Gettysburg Town Square.

Marco said she is looking forward to performing “Flight of Valor” by James Swearingen.

“It was performed at the Flight 93 grounds the year after 9/11, and it’s based on the hymn ‘It Is Well With My Soul,’ ” she said.

Other pieces include “The Star Spangled Banner;” the main title theme from the film “Gettysburg;” as well as “Going Home,” composed by retired Air Force veteran and Air Force Band member Jari Villanueva.

The band also will perform another of Villanueva’s arrangements, a four-part harmonized version of the taps bugle call, which originally was performed in memory of President John F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination.

Members from the community bands have come together since 2016 to perform concerts throughout the region, including at Seton Hill University and the Palace Theatre in Greensburg. In total, the five bands are made up of about 250 musicians from Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“I’m really looking forward to visiting these sites and making music with this group,” Marco said. “Paying homage through music is a wonderful thing to be able to do.”

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