November 2 CCB Concert

On November 2nd, the Chelmsford Community Band had its first fall concert since I've been with the band (5ish years). The lineup was wonderful - exactly my favorite kind of material. Consensus among the band is that this is one of our strongest concerts in recent years, which I attribute to the hard work of the band but also to our still-new director Lucinda Ellert. She manages to get more out of the band than I would have thought possible, with great insight and patience, but also with dedication and discipline.

Another highlight that made a big difference: Tom Palance came in to work with our trumpet section and was a featured soloist on two of our pieces. Another one of Lucinda's great ideas! I'd love to have a trombone clinician next... but I think we'll probably do a woodwind...

I videoed the whole concert and set up a YouTube playlist, but we haven't circulated it widely. Here's a sample.



And here's our lineup:

• Them Basses
• Cajun Folk Songs
• Pavane
• Prelude, Siciliano and Rondo
• Concertino for Three Brass
• Intermission
• Seventy Six Trombones
• To a New Dawn
• Rose Variations
• Bugler’s Holiday
• Concert Etude

Great band scheduling app!

Our band struggles a bit to keep track of the comings and goings of members.... who's coming to rehearsal tonight, do we have enough euphoniums for the concert, etc. So I sent a message out to a band group I belong to asking for some advice. I've used a Google spreadsheet for ages, but it's laborious to fill in and not a great management tool.

So, within an hour, I got a message from the leader of the Nottingham Concert Band recommending Muzodo. It looks fantastic! Seems to do just what I wanted - I can manage attendance, share schedules, and look at coverage by instrument and chair. Exciting! (Nothing like being both a band geek and an IT geek....)

Recalled to Life: Lost Marches of Jean Missud

Earlier this week I joined the Dane Street Church Community Band in Beverly to play a handful of marches by Jean Missud. They'd been in the collection of the Peabody Essex Museum for ages, recently discovered and made the focus of post-graduate study by tuba player Kevin Carubia. Fine, it didn't alleviate my general distaste for marches, but it was fun playing pieces that hadn't been done for over 130 years!

Click to enlarge. I dare you to figure out the roadmap!

Happy Birthday Littleton and Sudbury!

Tomorrow will be an exciting day for the Chelmsford band - we're participating in the Littleton Tercentennial Parade! It'll be our usual line-up of parade tunes - Liberty Bell, Semper Fi, His Honor and National Emblem.

And after that, I'll switch hats and head to Sudbury - a mere youngster - celebrating its 275th the same day. There I'll be representing the Sudbury Savoyards at our booth.

Inspiration Down East

While vacationing in Maine this week, I came across a wonderful feature in a recent issue of Down East magazine.

This article does a really wonderful job at expressing all the excitement, spirit, and challenge in running a successful community band today.

http://www.downeast.com/band-together/

It's just what I needed to get me in gear for the coming year in Chelmsford! Very much looking forward to getting back home and starting to play again after a few weeks off.

 

We SERIOUSLY need a canopy for the Chelmsford band!