W.D. PACKARD BAND Disney tunes to liven annual kids concert

Limited funding for field trips has clouded the program's future.
WARREN -- How do you get 2,000 school kids to sit still during a concert-band performance?
Easy -- give 'em some Disney music.
Kids from 20 area elementary schools will gather April 20 at Packard Music Hall, 1703 Mahoning Ave., for an annual concert sponsored by the American Association of University Women.
As is customary, a highlight of the event will be a performance of music from a recent Disney film, in this case "The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."
The AAUW Children's Spring Concert features a performance by the W.D. Packard Concert Band, a professional wind ensemble conducted by Donald W. Byo, that will play a selection of patriotic tunes and classical pieces relating to nature. Before the concert, members of the ensemble will interact with the pupils and introduce them to their instruments.
Band's 50th anniversary
"I think they really enjoy it," said Debra Lohr, co-chair of the event and a member of the AAUW Warren-Trumbull chapter. "For students that wouldn't otherwise hear this kind of music, it broadens their horizons."
The Packard Band is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The 50-member brass, woodwind and percussion group comprises top musicians from the area. The band performs free public shows at the Packard Music Hall on a regular basis.
"Just about everybody has a master's in music," said Thomas A. Groth, associate executive director of the group.
The Packard Band, funded by the estate of automobile mogul W.D. Packard, is financed to continue playing indefinitely. The children's concert, however, faces a less certain future.
In previous years, the band gave up to four performances. Organizers had hoped for two shows this year but settled on one because of a lack of interest among area schools.
"This year, we're barely able to pull off one concert," said Martha Eller, who was president of the Warren-Trumbull AAUW chapter from 1989 to 1993 and chair of the spring concert from 1988 to 1995. "Most schools can only do one field trip a year. If they want to take them to the zoo or who knows where, they can't take them to the concert."
Many schools that were invited to attend the concert had to decline because of transportation costs, Eller said.
Groth said the event is likely to continue well into the future, and he is looking ahead to next year's program, which will mark the spring concert's 50th year.
"I see a good future in it, with some new twists and some things the children are going to enjoy," he said.