LYNCHBURG POPS COMMUNITY BAND
Music Is Better Together
Experience the joy of live music with the Lynchburg Pops Community Band. Made up of musicians from throughout the Lynchburg area, Lynchburg Pops brings people together through entertaining concerts, familiar favorites, timeless classics, and the shared experience of making music.
Music, Friendship, and Community
About Lynchburg Pops
Lynchburg Pops Community Band brings musicians from throughout the Lynchburg area together to learn, perform, and share the joy of live music.
We are an all-volunteer, multigenerational group made up of people from a variety of professions, backgrounds, and levels of musical experience. Although our individual stories are different, we are united by a love of making music together.
Music, Friendship, and Community
About Lynchburg Pops
Lynchburg Pops Community Band brings musicians from throughout the Lynchburg area together to learn, perform, and share the joy of live music.
We are an all-volunteer, multigenerational group made up of people from a variety of professions, backgrounds, and levels of musical experience. Although our individual stories are different, we are united by a love of making music together.
Our Story
Lynchburg Pops was created in late 2019 when retired music educators Steve Aiello and Jim Meredith began discussing the need for a community band in the Lynchburg region.
Jim agreed to serve as the group’s conductor, while Steve became its business manager and president. The new band held its first rehearsal on March 7, 2020.
Although the group experienced an extended interruption shortly after its formation because of COVID-19, its founders’ vision and enthusiasm never disappeared. That vision eventually grew into the vibrant community band Lynchburg enjoys today.
What We Do
Lynchburg Pops gives local adults an opportunity to continue playing their instruments, improve their performance skills, and connect with other musicians in a welcoming environment.
We rehearse throughout the year and present several major concerts for the community, along with smaller and informal performances.
What We Do
Lynchburg Pops gives local adults an opportunity to continue playing their instruments, improve their performance skills, and connect with other musicians in a welcoming environment.
We rehearse throughout the year and present several major concerts for the community, along with smaller and informal performances.
Our programs
Our repertoire may include...
Broadway Hits
Famous Movie Themes and Scores
Pop Hits and Chart Toppers
Jazz, Swing, and Big Band Era Toe-Tappers
Familiar Classical Pieces
Holiday Favorites and Newer Seasonal Arrangements Destined to Become Much-Loved Classics
For selected performances, the band is also joined by guest musicians and the Lynchburg Pops Singers.
Our Conductors
Conductor/Artistic Director
Steve Williams
Steve Williams brings a wealth of experience and talent to the Lynchburg Pops. He is the band director at Liberty Middle School in Bedford, Va., and directs the Liberty High School jazz band as well as assisting with the marching band. He has been in education for 38 years, having taught music at every level from elementary to university concert band.
Steve taught for most of his career in Missouri, taking a break to serve as the supervisor of fine arts for the Missouri Department of Education. While there, he worked with visual art, music, theater and dance teachers across the state on curriculum and instruction issues. He supervised the final writing process for state-wide Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) aligned to national standards. He developed the guidebook
"Depth of Knowledge in the Fine Arts," outlining rigor expectations for assessment in the arts, which has since been adopted nationally by several school districts.
At the graduate level, he taught "Authentic Assessment" at the University of Missouri - Columbia, a course for recent education graduates in the Fellows Program earning a master's degree while teaching in Columbia-area schools. The course covered test development, formative and summative assessment, backwards design, understanding by design, differentiation, and other effective teaching and assessment strategies.
He holds two bachelor's degrees from the University of Central Missouri in music education and jazz composition, and a master's degree in wind conducting from the University of Missouri - Columbia. Steve is also the founder and director of the Lynchburg Kicks Dance Band, a volunteer group of local musicians performing classic standards from the Big Band Era and beyond. Additionally, he plays lead trumpet and directs the Beat Street Revival Big Band out of Roanoke.
Associate Conductor
Matthew Farley
W. Matthew Farley is a conductor, arranger, educator, and educational leader. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Virginia.
During his ten years as Director of Bands at Brookville High School, Mr. Farley led ensembles to multiple Virginia Honor Band designations, Superior ratings at Virginia Concert Band Assessment across Grades II–VI, and the Virginia Marching Band Cooperative Group I State Championship. He is a sought-after guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for concert and marching bands in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Mr. Farley lives in Lynchburg, Virginia, with his wife and their two sons. He currently serves as Director of Enrollment at James River Day School, where he continues his commitment to educational excellence, leadership, and student success.
Associate Conductor
Matthew Farley
W. Matthew Farley is a conductor, arranger, educator, and educational leader. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Virginia.
During his ten years as Director of Bands at Brookville High School, Mr. Farley led ensembles to multiple Virginia Honor Band designations, Superior ratings at Virginia Concert Band Assessment across Grades II–VI, and the Virginia Marching Band Cooperative Group I State Championship. He is a sought-after guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for concert and marching bands in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Mr. Farley lives in Lynchburg, Virginia, with his wife and their two sons. He currently serves as Director of Enrollment at James River Day School, where he continues his commitment to educational excellence, leadership, and student success.
Choral Director
Harold Tipton
Harold Lee Tipton, choral director, was born and raised in the Lynchburg area. He has over 30 years of experience directing choral music and ensembles in the Lynchburg area. He attended Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, now Shenandoah University, class of 1980, majoring in church music and minoring in voice and percussion, and studied under David Stautzenburger and Jackson Sheets.
He considers Lucille Kent (piano), Neal Haworth (symphonic band), and Carl Harris (vocal) as his local mentors.
Harold lives in Lynchburg, Va., with his wife, Mary Miles Tipton. He is a local business owner, is the proud father of two sons, Miles and Tyler, and has five grandchildren.
Come Make Music With Us
Whether you have played for years or are looking for a reason to pick up your instrument again, Lynchburg Pops offers a place to grow, contribute, and enjoy music with others.
Come Make Music With Us
Whether you have played for years or are looking for a reason to pick up your instrument again, Lynchburg Pops offers a place to grow, contribute, and enjoy music with others.
