Group will be guest at regional event

Staff report

PITTSBURGH

The Youngstown Area Community Concert Band has been selected to perform in the Three Rivers Community Band Festival as this year’s regional guest band.

The band, which is conducted by Joseph Pellegrini, was founded in 1984 and has more than 60 members from the Youngstown area and western Pennsylvania.

The Three Rivers festival, now in its ninth year, will be from 2:30 to 5 p.m. May 1 Upper Saint Clair Theater, which is located in Upper Saint Clair High School, on U.S. 19, in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.

Jim Cunningham of WQED-FM will be the host.

Admission is free, but contributions to support the festival will be accepted.

The festival showcases the region’s amateur musical talent.

The festival band will be made up of 84 musicians from 51 musical organizations in the region.

It will perform selections under the baton of guest conductor James Gourlay of the River City Brass.

For information, go to ewsb.org/festival.

The Youngstown Area Community Concert Band was organized in 1983 by euphonium player Bill Gretsinger.

In the early years, rehearsals took place at Youngstown Ursline High School.

The YACCB meets on Thursday evenings in the band room of the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University.

Pellegrini, a retired music teacher of 34 years from the Austintown School District, became the YACCB conductor in 1990.

He is currently the assistant marching band director of Champion High School and a saxophone teacher.

The YACCB plays 12 concerts a year, including a benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank which will be Dec. 9 at Stambaugh Auditorium.

Members range in age from 15 to 86.

To learn more about the group, go to yaccb.org.