Last Sunday my community band played our first concert of the season, a Halloween concert, complete with us dressing in costume.
We all had a great time listening to and playing the spooky music.
Yesterday I went to a big box store to buy 50 pounds of oiler seeds for my demanding wild birds. Though Halloween itself isn’t for another couple days I was immediately struck by how Christmas festive the store was.
The forest of lit Christmas trees made me smile.
The giant Santa made me question whether people really need to spend that kind of money. I mean, you could buy a cart of groceries for the same amount! 🙂
And as I gazed over the entire area I realized just how much our seasons, Halloween to Christmas, have really been folded together.
I’m not done with the pumpkins yet, and though it was kind of cool, in a shock to the system sort of way, I’m not ready to even think about Christmas.
As usual I have been worried about an upcoming Community Band concert. I don’t know why I’m like that, why I worry so much. But soon enough Friday afternoon arrived and I found myself dressed in black, hauling rolling buckets filled with extra music (just in case) and arriving at our venue early to help set up.
There’s always a lot to set up for a concert, especially when we have a cake and cookie reception after. This year we also had displays about our country’s history, put together by both high school students and members of the Sons of the American Revolution. And of course there’s the 50+ chairs and stands that needed to be organized up on the stage.
Setting up the sound system.
Soon it was time to warm up, to play a few measures of this piece and that. To work out any problematic parts, to practice, just one more time, the tempo change at measure 68. To settle into our chairs, adjust the height of the stand, push our reading glasses up our noses.
To focus.
And, of course, to look out at the accumulating audience, checking to see if our own people have arrived. This year I had eight friends, neighbors and family attend our concert. That’s a record for me. For years it’s just been my poor husband attending, on his own, innumerable concerts over the years in support me.
Just the beginning of what turned out to be a really big crowd.
This year my sister and her friend drove up from Alabama just for the concert (and of course to visit with us), Penny’s breeder came, one of my night photography friends arrived from across the county, and three people from my neighborhood came too.
Dane, with one year of college under his belt, came back to play this concert with us.
Does having people you know in the audience up the anxiety level? Not this time. I knew they’d like this kind of concert, patriotic music, marches that they’d heard before, and a salute to members of our armed forces.
Photo credit: Dane’s grandfather, George Stanley White
You could hardly not like it. We even gave everybody flags to wave during the obligatory Stars and Stripes finale.
In the end the music was good, the cake was good, Uncle Sam arrived to conduct, and everybody had a good time. Which is, after all, the goal of any celebration.
My sister and me, after the concert, with flowers she gave me in celebration.
Check around your town. I bet this summer there’s going to be a concert somewhere near you that celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Make a point of going. I think you’ll feel better about our country if you enjoy music in the company of other folks. There’s a kind of hope in celebratory music.
Patriotic plant given to me by my photography friend.
My local community band played our annual fundraising concert last night. We hosted 200+ people at a spaghetti dinner/concert. This year our theme was A Night on Broadway, with all of the music centered around Broadway shows.
Our program cover.
We upped the number of tickets available from last year’s 150 to 200, not really expecting we’d sell them all. But we did. We sold out several days before the concert. And more people were asking for tickets.
Setting up for the musical dinner party.
People that waited to purchase a ticket ended up with a seat but no meal. We only bought enough food to feed 200 people, and only had that much room at tables. They sat in chairs along the perimeter of the church gym where we played. I think there were about 30 people sitting in chairs.
People getting settled before the music began.
It was a lot of work getting the space ready for the concert. Most of the band members arrived at 4 to set up tables, chairs and the silent auction. We warmed up from 5 to 6, and then opened the doors. There was a line of people waiting patiently…and the room quickly filled up.
Me and my clarinet neighbor.
It’s an entirely different experience to play in a crowded room, to have people sitting (and eating spaghetti) only feet away. But it’s a great experience that I wish everyone could have. Applause bouncing off of cement walls seems louder. The music even seems bigger. And mistakes seem to disappear into the cloud of music rising into basketball backboards.
Some of our silent auction baskets. We had 75 of them.
If you’ve ever played music from a Broadway show you’ll know it’s not easy. And when you put snippets of a bunch of different songs from a show into one piece of music, well, there’s all sorts of opportunities to play something wrong. Transitions between songs within a piece are one of the hardest things to do, and our concert Friday was full of them.
Our vocalist for Moon River is also the principal percussionist.
I think I made about 64,852 errors. Sometimes I stopped paying attention, listening to the music, and lost track of where we were. Other times I missed a key signature change even though while practicing I’d circled them with dark pencil. Once I even came in a measure early. I was not alone. There were plenty of errors, but the audience didn’t seem to care. The music was all fun, most of it was stuff they knew, maybe even from shows they’d seen.
Everyone was in a wonderful mood, and it was a lot of fun.
The clarinet section.
But boy am I glad this one is over. An entire concert of show music was intimidating enough. Adding the organization and coordination of a dinner for 200 people on top of it? Nearly impossible.
But we pulled it off for the second year in a row. It was fun, despite all the work. A few band members I’ve talked to today, the day after, have said they’re tired and mostly hanging out on the sofa, relieved to have it done.
I concur. But I look forward to next year’s event too.
This season’s last concert is scheduled for May, where we’ll be playing music in tribute to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It will be a totally different type of concert, and we hope that all 200+ guests at Friday’s dinner will come to the high school for a free celebration.
Our community band holiday concert is this Thursday. Yes, the day after tomorrow, and before Thanksgiving. It’s never happened like this before.
We’ve only had 4 weeks of rehearsals to prepare, but it’s Christmas music, much of it we’ve played before. It will be fine. In fact, it might just be the perfect way to kick the holiday season off!
So…if you’re in the area, and would enjoy some uplifting music to kick start your holiday season…come on over to the Clarkston High School this Thursday evening, 7:00 p.m. It’s free.
You can have your picture taken with the authentic Santa, and we’ll have cookies afterward too! I personally don’t think you can have a legitimate holiday season until you’ve heard “Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson live and in person.
And Santa himself will be directing “Sleigh Ride.” That alone should make you want to be there.
Happy Holidays, everybody! Christmas music, then Thanksgiving. It’s always good to mix things up. Keeps us on our toes!
My mom used to say she wished the radio stations continued to play Christmas music after Christmas day. Back then you had to be in the same room as the radio in order to hear and she didn’t have time to listen before Christmas morning. She had four kids to shop and wrap for and a big holiday dinner to prepare.
She didn’t have time to enjoy the season until it was over.
The Clarkston Community Band, pictures from the audience perspective taken by my husband.
I wish she could have attended the concert our Clarkston Community Band played last Friday evening. Pretty lights and lush music shaped our theme of “Let there be Peace.”
“Bugler’s’Holidayby Leroy Anderson
I don’t think there’s a better way to get in the spirit of the season than to go to a live concert, right in your own community, performed by your friends and neighbors. The musicians might not be professionals (though sometimes they are) and the performance might not be perfect (though sometimes it is) but the spirit is real and the motivation is pure.
Friday night songs like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, “White Christmas” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas” got us all into the right mood. When the audience sang along on a medley of Christmas carols I had to stop playing for a moment and just listen to all those voices joined together.
Pure magic.
Santa waits in the wings
Yep, Friday night we filled that auditorium with love. Toward the end of the show lots of children came up on stage to ring jingle bells as we played “Here Comes Santa Claus” in the hope they could convince Santa to stop in for a visit. These kids were very convincing, and Santa showed up right on cue. Their faces, when they realized he was standing right behind them, were priceless.
More magic.
Excitement builds as they hope for the big guy to arrive.
And then Santa conducted our last piece of music, “Sleigh Ride,” because it’ can’t be a holiday concert without a ride through the snow behind prancing horses, even if it’s all only in our imaginations.
A perfect ending to a perfect evening.
Friday night we all came together for a moment of celebration and peace, even knowing the world is filled with unrest. We all left that night smiling and you can too. This season, check your local high school’s web page. There’s likely a holiday concert or two near you this very week. Please take time from your preparations to support those musicians. They’d love to see a full house and you’ll be glad you went.
I guarantee there will be magic bouncing off those walls.
I’m playing with our local community band again this season and we’re coming up on our first concert. This is not the first time we’ve played Danzon #2, nor the first time we woodwinds have been told to pretend we’re plucking a stringed instrument.
You know, that gentle, short little ping sound the strings make when they put the bow aside and pluck the strings with a finger tip.
All that quiet plunking at the beginning.
As I practice, trying to make that light sound on my clarinet, the reed and my tongue feeling heavy, I wonder. When was the last time a string player was asked to pretend to be a clarinet?
Aha. Didn’t think so.
Less plunking, more crazy fast stuff on page 2. With key signature stuff too.
Walktober update: So far we have 11 posts collected, with a few more in the works, including mine. Let’s see if we can get them all in by Monday November 6th. Let me know if you need more time than that! 🙂
PS: Enjoy the Danzon Piece, played by an orchestra with strings as it was probably meant to be. At 3:21 you’ll see an example of string plucking. But watch it all, it’s guaranteed to make you smile.
Our community band has been rehearsing since September for last night’s Christmas concert. It hasn’t been easy. As librarian I sit on the board and we met numerous times, over the long months when we couldn’t play together, to access the situation.
Getting ready.
When we finally could meet again it was under the strict rules of the school system whose buildings we use. Everyone needed to be masked, even when playing our instruments. The instruments themselves had to have bell covers. And our audience had to remain masked at all times too.
Last minute instructions.
This fall we polled our members, asking whether they felt comfortable playing together under these guidelines. About 50% of the band agreed to play. I agreed too, but with trepidation. I am still uneasy being around other people in a closed space. Even if we are all masked up.
A special guest arrives.
But we all tried to be careful, and it was so good to make music again. Even if we sounded a bit ragged, given all the parts weren’t covered. Even though we only had one poor lonely percussionist, and holiday music is full of percussion!
Some rehearsals made me wonder if we’d get our stuff together in time.
We were lucky to have some high school players come in at the last moment to help us. Lots of percussionists, three clarinetists, and several others helped fill in the holes and our sound filled out.
Sleigh Ride isn’t right unless Santa conducts.
And, as is usual in community bands, when everyone shows up for the concert we show up focused, and we played so much better last night than at any one of our rehearsals.
You wouldn’t have been able to tell, because we were wearing masks, but I think every one of us was grinning by the end.
Making music is magic. We are so lucky that we were able to do that last night.
Thanks to our guest conductor, Paul!
The audience gave us a standing ovation. I don’t know if they were just anxious to leave, or glad to hear live music again after such a long break.
I think I’ll just assume they were grinning behind their masks too.
