Bloomington Community Band Press Releases

At 40-something, she rediscovered her inner band geek

From the Herald-Times, August 9, 2005 edition
Reprinted with permission

Rebecca Robbins
Community columnist
August 9, 2005

After my first law firm hired me, one of the partners confided that they liked lawyers who had played on a sports team (military service was even better, but unlikely in the 1980s), because it indicated a certain level of discipline, teamwork and focus. While I was lacking in the athletic department (see my earlier column about Title IX), I did have experience that my prospective employers deemed just as valuable: I was a musician. I had learned about hard work and daily practice. I had learned when it was appropriate to be a soloist and when it was important to blend within the group. I could handle the pressure of public performance. I attribute the real development of these career-enhancing skills not so much to my undergraduate music training at Indiana University, but to an earlier institution: my high school band.

Thousands of kids pass through school band programs every year, yet only a few study music in college. Of that small group, even fewer actually pursue careers in music. For the rest, music is often something left behind in the band room, along with the musky smell of brass instruments and old sheet music. Locked away in their instrument cases are the memories of wrong notes, good times and lasting friendships.

I hadn't played my horn for 22 years, but when my daughter joined her school band a couple of years ago, she talked me into taking up the clarinet again. My husband gave me a new instrument, and as soon as I opened the case and smelled the wood and cork grease, the memories came flooding back. I was hooked all over again.

Before long, I found the Bloomington Community Band. For two hours every Monday night, I play music with 50 or so people just like me. We are teachers and truckers, builders and barbers, doctors and lawyers. "Tom" took 40 years off from the tenor sax; he picked it up again when he recently retired. "Al" in our flute section is 92 years old. We also recently welcomed two young mothers who've carved out time for themselves on Monday nights to play in the band.

We fiercely uphold our come-as-you-are, no-audition, open-door policy; it is precisely this friendly atmosphere that has caused so many of us to pick up our instruments again. Our conductor, Tim Moore (also a volunteer), is so welcoming and enthusiastic toward newcomers that it's hard not to keep coming back.

In a town filled with extraordinary musical talent, it's comforting that those of us with just ordinary musical talent have a place to work our chops, trill our fingers and pound our drums. Like many others who play in community bands across the country, we come together to share our lifelong love of music and to provide a public service. We play a variety of music, from patriotic to jazzy to symphonic. We enjoy bringing the music of the people to the people - at state parks, nursing homes, town squares and arts fairs.

We don't insist on perfect acoustics, and we don't mind if a concertgoer claps at the "wrong" time or a baby wails during a quiet moment in an overture. Sitting on folding chairs we brought from home, we play our hearts out, sometimes while mosquitoes swarm, cicadas drop on our heads or nursing home monitors beep … and we love every noisy minute.

So whether or not you see yourself as a band geek (like me), check out our Web site at www.BloomingtonCommunityBand.com and get that old instrument out of the attic. We'd love to see you at rehearsal next Monday night.

Rebecca Robbins' column appears every other Tuesday in The Herald-Times.

Band is playing with a big sound

From the Bloomington Herald Times, August 7, 2000 edition
Reprinted with permission

Right Next Door: Bloomington Community Band

The noise of the Bloomington Community Band tuning their instrument creates a sense of controlled chaos and excitement. There is a moment of silence, then the air is filled with music.

The group plays marches, folk tunes, musicals, jazz and overtures from several musical eras. Last year they played the theme song from Aladdin.

"If you don't like one song, stick around and we'll play something you will enjoy," Moore adds.

The band plays more than 20 concerts a year, usually on Saturdays or Sundays, at parks, festivals and other events. They played at the Monroe County Court House on the Fourth of July, before the parade.

"An important aspect to our schedule is playing at area nursing homes. We rehearse on Monday evenings at St. Thomas church. They have graciously allowed us to practice there rent-free for about eight years. During the winter months, from October to right before Christmas, we play holiday music for the folks in nursing homes. It's very gratifying," Moore said.

The band is made up of volunteers ranging from 16 to 90 years old. The musicians come from a variety of backgrounds and represent a cross-section of the community. The band has doctors, lawyers, factory workers and landscape artists. The love of music unites them.

"These men and women need to play music. Without it, their lives wouldn't be good as they are," Moore said.

Janice Lorenz works as a librarian and plays clarinet. "In the 70s, I answered an ad in the H-T saying there was a community band forming. I've made friends here. I wish the public would come out and see us. We're all volunteer and its free. What a deal," Lorenz said.

Trombone player and retired academic economist Lloyd Orr said the band keeps him practicing and he enjoys performing. "What pleases me most about this band is how much it's improved in quality over the last five to eight years," Orr adds.

Jim Sowinski, a physicist at the IU Cyclotron, has played the trumpet with the band for 14 years. "I played in high school and a little during college. This group gives me a chance to get together for the music. I know they'll be there, every Monday night at St. Thomas church. Nobody needs to call. We just show up," Sowinski said.

"I feel like the character in Field of Dreams. If I put up my music stand, they come," Moore said.

Newcomers are always welcome. "We don't hold auditions. Rather, you come and we'll audition for you ... If we were to set up certain skill levels, that would seem very intimidating and remember, we're a volunteer band. So we have an open door policy. You can come in and see how you like us. People usually know if they aren't up to the band's level. That way, nobody goes away with hurt feelings. Team players usually stick around. I try to stay out of the dynamics of the group and let it work itself out." Moore pauses. "I've learned a lot over the years and this really seems to work well for everybody."

The Bloomington Community Band will be playing at 7 p.m. Aug. 25 at Third Street Park as part of the City of Bloomington's Twilight Series Concerts. They'll be at the Fourth Street Festival and St. Charles School Festival in September. For a complete listing up its upcoming dates visit www.indiana.edu/~cheminfo/gw/band.html.

Reporter Jan Ley can be reached by phone at 331-4380, or by e-mail at jkl@heraldt.com.

Strike up the band!

From the Bloomington Herald Times, March 23, 1998 edition
Reprinted with permission

Right Next Door: Bloomington Community Band

Though they come from many different walks of life and even from different parts of the state, when the members of the Bloomington Community Band come together, they speak in one voice.

Under the direction of Tim Moore, they try to make that a melodic and entertaining voice, too.

"We practice every Monday night with an average of about 40 members," said Moore, preparing for last Monday's session at St. Thomas Lutheran Church. "Since this is all volunteer, people drop in and out, but there's usually a consistent core group."

The band has been building that group for about 20 years in this incarnation. Though the presence of a community band has been tracked back to the Civil War era, it has waxed and waned over the years, completely dropping out of sight by the late 1960s.

But in the 1970s, Gary Wiggins and Newell Long helped recharter the band, with Long still considered "conductor emeritus," said Moore, who has led the band for the last several years.

"It's been a slow crawl uphill, but we have seen a real growth in the last couple of years and always are looking for new members."

The group practices weekly and performs around town from May through the fall festivals, then at area nursing homes during the holidays. January through spring, the band chooses and rehearses the musical repertoire, which ranges from Broadway show tunes to popular to classical. There are no auditions and musicians of various skill levels are welcome, members said.

In "real life," members are factory workers, physicians, entrepreneurs and students. Many are former high school band members who pursued non-music careers, but missed the chance to play.

"This is my only outlet for playing," said Phyllis Solnzeff, who works at GE and plays tenor sax. "I've been in the band about 19 years and have met a lot of people. I particularly enjoy playing at the nursing homes."

"After playing in high school, I didn't play for 13 years," said McKinney, who works at the Indiana University main library. "One of my coworkers played clarinet and got me interested in playing again."

Other members are players in other area bands, too, such as the Bloomington Brass Band. One new member, Maria Hanson, also plays in three other bands.

"I'm in the school concert band and the Brass Band, too, but the Community Band is fun," said the 14-year-old, who attends Bloomington High School South. Her dad is a band member and both play trumpet.

"I got back into playing because Maria was interested in learning," said Harold Hanson, who sits a few chairs away from his daughter. He didn't play for 20 years, but had once been a member of the IU Marching 100. "I think she was intimidated by the tempo and sophistication, at first, but she's come along just fine."

Jim Kirkman has been in the band about 20 years. He also plays trumpet in the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Bloomington Brass Band and Bedford Community Band. The GM employee drives from his home in Needmore for practices and performances.

"I've played music all along while working because I found I really missed the experience after high school," he said. "I hope to play even more after I retire."

"I just came here to study with a retired professor because I'm switching from jazz piano to trumpet," said Rowe, who played professionally in St. Louis. "With trumpet, it's important to play with others, as opposed to piano. So this is a good chance to do that."

In addition to the mix of careers and skill levels, members come from as far away as Marshall, Ill.; Martinsville; and Bedford; though most are Bloomingtonians. When Joseph Car was looking to relocate from the Chicago area, he refused to go anywhere that didn't have a community band.

During rehearsals, members keep their eyes on Moore, an animated conductor who shouts directions ranging from encouragement to good natured chiding to suggestions on when to breathe. Players whisper to each other between pieces and chat during breaks, but for the most part, serious play underscores the general camaraderie because performance dates are nearing.

For this year, Bloomington Community Band will play several dates at the Farmers Market, Third Street Park, Picnic with Pops and assorted special dates. The full schedule of dates isn't set yet.

"We do perform about 22 concerts a year, beginning in May, so we want to be as good as we can be, and any musician knows that takes practice," said Moore.