A community band is forming and additional musicians are needed, especially percussionists. The first practice was held on Aug. 1.
Eight musicians came ready to play during the first meeting of the
Cornwall/Washingtonville Community Band on the evening of Aug. 1, at the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in New Windsor. The community band, organized by Judy Bracco and Tom Kane, and directed by Valerie Ransbottom, aims to give people a chance to play music and have fun in a laid back setting.
The Aug. 1 group, which included trumpet, tuba, clarinet, and baritone players, is made up of instrumentalists of varying degrees of talent. Some are professional players, others have played in other community bands, while some said it’s been a while since they last picked up their instrument.
Ransbottom said she was astonished to learn how well some of the people she knows can play.
“It was a very welcome surprise to find we have so much talent in the community.”
Carol Stein, a baritone player, said the extent of her playing is performing once a year in something called Tuba Christmas, however she did play for a community band while growing up in Eastchester.
“I enjoy playing, so I thought I’d give it a whirl,” Stein said. “Why should the kids have all the fun?”
Marcy Fuerch had a different reason for joining the community band. She and her husband recently moved to Highland Falls, so the clarinet player hopes to meet new people. Less than two years ago, Marcy played for a community band in New York City called Tri-Battery Pops.
Michael Fuerch hadn’t picked up his trumpet in about 10 years, so he hoped it would be like riding a bicycle. When his wife read about the community band, he agreed to join her as long as he was able to find the instrument.
Tom Kane, who’s responsible for organizing the band’s musical library, has 31 years of experience as a music teacher in the Ramapo School District. The trumpet player has directed the Professional Musicians of Orange County for 17 years and performs annually in Cornwall’s Independence Day parade.
Ransbottom, a music teacher in the Cornwall Central School District, holds a master’s degree in instrumental conducting and has experience teaching at the university level. She said teaching a group of musicians with varying levels of talent won’t be difficult.
“This is more of what I’m trained to do. At the university level, that’s what you get. You get the kids who are instrumental majors and you get the kids who just want to play for fun. Once you get a handful of people, they learn and lean on each other too, and that helps a lot.”
On the first evening, the group’s director started the musicians off with a scale and then had them play some easy music, slowly progressing to more challenging pieces. Music included pieces by John Philip Sousa, classical and patriotic music, as well as opera themes. Ransbottom was pleased with the first session.
“For most people, it’s just a matter of they haven’t played in a while,” she said. “Once they start playing again, it’s just going to get better. We read some very easy stuff and we read a couple of difficult pieces too. It gave me a feel for where the group is. I’ve guest conducted for a couple of other community bands and I think we’ll definitely be on par with what I’ve seen.”
Going forward, the community band will meet on the first and third Thursday of each month starting in September. The group meets in the library of the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church located at 1520 Route 94 in New Windsor. The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 5. Practice sessions will be 90 minutes.
There’s no limit to the number of band members to be included in the group, but Ransbottom said the biggest pull is for percussionists. For now, the rehearsals are not to gear up for a public performance, but the coordinators have already been asked by a couple of entities to perform.
Anyone interested in joining may e-mail Judy Bracco at cwcommunityband@gmail.com.