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Youngstown Community Band prepares for summer season
By GRACE WYLER
The Youngstown Community Band, in its 26th year of entertaining audiences in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania, is preparing to kick off its 2010 summer concert season.
The band, made up of 75 players from across the Youngstown area, is a wind ensemble that specializes in patriotic music. The group also plays marches and contemporary show tunes.
This summer, the band has scheduled about 12 performances, including a patriotic concert at the Morley Performing Arts Pavilion, a show at the Three Rivers Band Festival in Pittsburgh and its 25th appearance as the feature band at the Ellwood City Festival.
The group will also play concerts in Austintown, Boardman, Poland and Mercer, Pa.
The band was created for adult musicians to continue playing, said band member Ed D’Angelo. Players range from ages 16 to 80, and include teachers, former clergy members and a rural letter carrier.
“The band was made for young adults, college graduates and music educators who love to play their instruments but don’t have a place to play,” D’Angelo said. “That’s really the glory of the community band.”
Like many community bands of its nature, the Youngstown Community Band has a high turnover of musicians, D’Angelo said. But 12 of the band’s original members — including founder Bill Gretsinger — still play with the band.
The musicians’ commitment to the band has greatly contributed to the group’s success, D’Angelo said. The group seats about 50 members every practice, a high turnout for a community band with members coming from as far as Columbiana, New Middletown and Mercer, Pa.
The band is always looking for new members, D’Angelo said. No auditions are required, but musicians must have their own instrument.
The band practices at Bliss Hall at Youngstown State University Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
For information about the band, visit www.yaacb.org.
“We certainly welcome anyone interested in being a part of our band as a musician,” D’Angelo said. “It is definitely a place for adults to continue their music education.”
“[The band] is by far the best in its area,” D’Angelo said. “People are very committed to the band and excited about the music we play, and that has given us the opportunity to play better music.”