The South Shore Concert Band, based in Massachusetts and led by Richard Whitmarsh, is a concert band that specializes in circus band literature. Founded in 1947 as the Abington Legion Band, it was renamed the Rockland Concert Band in 1970 at about the time Whitmarsh took over the group from its founder. The "South Shore" name came later, and in concert appearances the group sometimes uses the name South Shore Circus Concert Band. It has played with circuses but does not do so often; once or twice a year the group appears with the Big Apple Circus in New York City, and on special occasions have appeared with other troupes such as the Sells and Gray Circus and the Clyde Beatty Circus. On Richard Whitmarsh's own label, the South Shore Concert Band has undertaken a comprehensive recording project of much of the main literature for circus band, each volume recorded in the context of particular kinds of circus performances. This project began in 1972, and by the end of 2006 the series is projected to run to a whopping 33 volumes of music. By June 2006 all 613 selections recorded by the South Shore Concert Band were available digitally; the most popular selection, not surprisingly, is Julius Fucik's Thunder and Blazes. The series is highly valued for preserving the American circus band tradition, as circuses have begun to pursue a trend away from traditional band music and toward pre-recorded, contemporary pop music of the kind that most twenty first century kids are familiar with. They are not to be confused with the South Shore Concert Band of Staten Island, NJ, a long-established community ensemble that plays during the summer months.
