By Sarah McElfresh

In southwestern Pennsylvania there are over 20 different community bands, all are special in their own way and serve their musicians and community in a variety of ways.  I was fortunate to play with two community bands in the Pittsburgh area—The East Winds Symphonic Band and the Delmont Concert Band.  I played with EWSB for 9 years and with DCB for about 1 and a half.  These two bands are very different, yet  both are rewarding and enjoyable.  This past summer, my family moved out of the Pittsburgh region and in addition to all those things that accompany moving, finding a community band to play with was high on the priority list.  And of course we found some groups through various resources and started playing shortly after arriving.  So why was finding a community band in our new home just as important as finding the grocery store or library?  My guess is those of you who play in a community band know the answer, but I thought I’d share and it helps explain why Southwestern PA Band Partners and this newsletter have been important to me.  Now that I have moved, it is unclear if this newsletter and web site will continue.  If there are any of you in the region interested in continuing SWPABP please contact me and we’ll see what we can do.  As for now, I will continue things as I can and I’ll share why community band is an important part of my family’s life.

Community Band is a place where not only music is made, but friendships are formed.  We come together for the love of music, the desire to keep playing our instruments, to entertain audiences, and to find other people looking for the same thing.  Sharing the music with an audience brings the relationship with the music and each other to another level.

I started going to community band rehearsals and concerts with my parents (both trumpet players) before I could walk, so band was always a part of my life.  I was the banner carrier for parades for a number of years and when able to play trumpet well enough I joined rehearsals.  I had started playing baritone in 7th grade and the summer before high school I did not have a school horn and was not quite able to go back to playing trumpet, so did not go to rehearsals once school got out.  When one of the tuba players found out why I wasn’t playing that summer, he gave me a euphonium—it is the horn I still play today.  He wasn’t going to let the fact that I didn’t have a horn to play keep me from playing with the group when he had a collection of horns that were collecting dust and tarnishing.  That is an example of the bond and friendship that is formed in a community band.  Now, playing in band is something my husband and I do together, and our children are involved as well.  It was my husband who brought me back to band after we got married.  Ten years and now 5 bands later, our 2 children come with us to rehearsals and concerts and enjoy being the band’s “biggest fans.”  They have their favorite pieces and concert venues and their own interpretation of the music.  I hope that one day they will find the same joy playing in a community band that I do.