WJMB plans annual holiday show

YOUNGSTOWN -- The Warren Junior Military Band's annual Christmas concert will be 3 p.m. Sunday at the Aristocrat Hall, corner of Belmont and Francisca, on the upper North Side. It is free and open to the public.
Musicians are welcome to try out for the band this weekend at rehearsals Friday (4-8 p.m.), Saturday (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.-2 p.m.). Lunch will be provided. Interested people should wear sneakers and bring their instruments and music stands. Large instruments -- tubas, euphoniums and percussion -- are furnished by the band. Parents are encouraged to visit the rehearsals.
Founded in 1927, the WJMB is made up of pupils and students from high schools, middle schools and colleges in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. All of the participants are also active in their school music programs.
The WJMB is not a military organization but a concert and marching band in the Sousa tradition. This means that it plays all genres of music -- marches, classical music, Broadway tunes and modern contemporary wind ensemble.
The concert band is active all year round and is in demand for summer concert and parade performances throughout the Midwest, where the band tours each June.
The band's director is Paul D. Brizzi, now in his 17th year with the band. Brizzi is also band director at the University of Northern Iowa.
The band has marched in nearly every major parade in the country, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and the Orange Bowl Parade.
For more information, go to Wjmb.org. or call (330) 398-1643.