[SWPABP] In Concert: Fall 2006

In Concert:
Community Music Groups Working Together
A Newsletter of Southwestern Pennsylvania Band Partners

Fall 2006
Volume 2 Issue 4

Inside This Issue:

East Winds Symphonic Band Celebrating 25 years of Music

Prose provided by Roger Schneider and Wendy Noe. Combined, added to, and edited by Sarah McElfresh

The summer of 1981 saw the beginnings of a major change in the musical scene in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. It was then that three young amateur musicians decided they couldn't possibly play one more season with the rather casual area concert band they had joined just a few short years before. The musicians were: Ed Dzenis, a clarinet and saxophone player from Monroeville, Ron Johnson, who lived in Forest Hills and played the tuba; and Roger Schneider, a baritone horn player also from Forest Hills. Their goal was a simple one - to start a high-quality community band for serious amateur musicians in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh – an “amateur Eastman Wind Ensemble” as Schneider liked to describe it.

The summer months were spent diligently networking with musical friends and family in hopes of having the necessary instrumentation ready in September to begin the new band. In fact the very first recruiting poster used just that name for the group, in a headline urging interested musicians to “Come blow your horn, toot your flute or beat your drum with an all-new concert band!”

Having connections with South Avenue United Methodist Church in Wilkinsburg resulted in rehearsal space (although not ideal due to a low ceiling) and Jay Stivanson, the husband of the church organist/Music Director agreed to help out and conduct for a year. Stivanson taught music as a full-time faculty member of the Churchill School District, he played excellent oboe and he also turned out to be an excellent first conductor.

It was slow going at first in finding musicians, and the instrumentation at the first few rehearsals was not ideal, but things were moving along. After a few weeks membership was growing and rehearsals were moved to the Wilkinsburg borough building on October 12, 1981. By the end of November there were already 26 band members in addition to Jay Stivanson. The initial instrumentation included 14 woodwinds, 11 brass and 1 lone percussionist! Each week Jay brought in music borrowed from other groups, and the new band slowly began to develop a small, but challenging repertoire.

Now all that was needed was a name. Band members were encouraged to suggest names for the group, and finally, oboist, Dick Steinbrunn from Monroeville had a “eureka” moment. His suggestion won immediate approval. “The East Winds Symphonic Band.” Now there was a name the young band could grow into! So all the elements were now in place for the new group to begin making performance plans for the new year 1982. The first concert was performed on February 1, 1982.

Since 1982 the band has played in many locations in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties. Some favorites and memorable concerts have been presented at Forest Hills; Ligonier; Kennywood Park; Twin Lakes; Bach, Beethoven, and Brunch; Rodef Shalom Temple; the Three Rivers Arts Festival; and the Three Rivers Community Band Festival. Today the band performs a wide array of music including marches, music from stage and film, symphonic works, and other music written for concert band.

James Rossetti conducted the group from 1982 through early 1990, and Susan Sands has conducted the group since that time. Sands has a B.M. degree in Music Education, specializing in Oboe, from Susquehanna University and a M.Ed. in Music from The Pennsylvania State University. Susan has performed with the Harrisburg Symphony and the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra with both the Oboe and English Horn.

In 2002 founding member, Roger Schneider received the 2002 WQED-FM/Dominion Peoples VITA (Volunteer in the Arts) Award. One of Roger’s dreams was for there to be a band festival highlighting community bands of the region. The cash portion of the VITA award was used as seed money for The Three Rivers Community Band Festival, the first of which was held in 2004.

Membership is open to anyone with instrumental experience. If you are interested in joining visit their web site at http://www.ewsb.org for details.

Part of the 25th anniversary celebration includes a concert October 28th at Rodef Shalom Temple in Oakland. The band is also putting on a Holiday Concert December 2nd in Murrysville and they have invited the Murrysville Festival Chorus to join them. See the Concert Calendar for details.

Profile of the Jeannette Community Band
Provided by their website with permission from Sherrie Wood
The Jeannette Community Band was originally organized as the Jeannette Centennial Band in May of 1988 for the purpose of performing for the city of Jeannette's Centennial Celebration. Other organizations associated with Jeannette's 100th birthday have been dissolved, however, the band, backed by tremendous community support, continues to rehearse and perform. We perform concerts throughout the summer in the City of Jeannette and its surrounding communities. During its eighteen years of existence, The Jeannette Community Band has performed well over 100 concerts in the area. Typically attendance at our concerts is 300 - 400 people.

The Jeannette Centennial Band, now appropriately renamed The Jeannette Community Band is currently comprised of over 60 musicians from Jeannette and surrounding communities ranging in age of 13 to 85 years old. Our members consist of high school and college students, professionals, ex-professionals, band directors, and other who enjoy playing a musical instrument and like to socialize with people who share a common interest. We play music that consists of a mix of show tunes, marches, big band and light classical. We also perform an annual Christmas concert. While many community bands have only one director, we are fortunate to have two- Carl Masciantonio and Ron Stemple.

The Jeannette Community Band is located in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, a community about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, in Westmoreland County. Our practices and three of our concerts are held at the Jeannette American Legion, 109 S. 5th Street, Jeannette, PA. We rehearse every Tuesday evening from 7:30-9:15 p.m. except for a Winter break beginning after our Christmas Concert through early March. We also take a brief Summer break after our last August Concert until the first Tuesday after Labor Day.

New members are welcome at anytime. Many of our new band members haven't play in years but want to take up their instrument again. We have auditions but they mostly help our conductors get to know you and your abilities.

There are no dues or charges to join The Jeannette Community Band, however we do ask that band members bring their own music stands. We depend on sponsors, 50/50 raffles, and donations for our funding. Past sponsors include Elliot Turbomachinery Company, Jeannette, PA. and Citizens Bank.

Southwestern PA Community Bands (As of September 26, 2006)
There are no updates from the last issue. If you are aware of community bands in the region that are not yet in the online directory please let them know about us.

send email to newsletter@swpabandpartners.pghfree.net

Special Feature Section on Grants
Survey on Applying for Grants
Conducted between August 4th and September 20th.
We sent the following survey to the 26 community bands in our region that participate with SWPABP in some way. We received responses from 12 groups for a 46% return rate. The survey is listed below with a break down of the results.

Grants Survey for Southwestern PA Band Partners
1) Does your organization apply for grants? If yes go to question 2. If no, go to question 4.

2) If your organization applies for grants, what sources do you target?
-Pittsburgh area foundations (family and corporate)
-Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (merger of Pro Arts & GPAA)
-RAD (Allegheny Regional Asset District)
-Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
-Department of Economic & Community Development
-Other (feel free to specify)

3) Grant money is used for what purposes?
-Operating expenses (rent, etc.)
-Capital expenditures (purchase music, equipment, etc.)
-Publicity/Marketing
-Seed Money
-Audience development
-Guest artists
-Other

4) If your organization does not apply for grants, reason:
-Financially stable and fully funded
-Not aware of grant opportunities
-Lack of dedicated personnel to work on applications
-Process too complicated

RESULTS

Question 1: 25% Yes 75% No

Questions 2: Each answer was selected by the different groups that apply for grants as well as other foundations and other subsidiary groups that distribute Pennsylvania Council on the Arts funds.

Question 3: Again all of the items listed were things the different groups used the grant money for. Multiple groups used or planned to use money for publicity or seed money for other projects.

Question 4: The graph to the right shows the break down of the reasons given for not applying for grants. Some of the groups that were financially stable gave the following as to reasons why: A) little or no overhead costs (free use of rehearsal/performance space) b) receive enough in concert donations to cover costs c) Members donate as needed for expenses (operating or otherwise) d) Sponsors for specific concerts

See the article on the next page which discusses grant writing and some of the other reasons groups do not apply for grants. See our first newsletter (Fall 2005) for information on some of the funding agencies listed above or visit our links web page. http://swpabandpartners.pghfree.net/links.html

The ABC's of Grant Applications
By Kathy Wikowski
Applying for grant money is often uncharted territory for many non-profit groups. In a recent survey by this organization to area community musical organizations (mainly bands), 34% of those responding were not aware of opportunities for financial assistance through grant agencies and 24% felt the process was too complicated. In reality, yes, it does take some effort and dedication, but the results are well worth the effort and by following some guidelines, grant applications may well become part of your organization's annual fund-raising effort.

There are many reasons for an organization to apply for grants. First and foremost is the financial assistance, but other factors also play a significant role. Many opportunities exist throughout the Pittsburgh and Western PA areas including many corporate and family foundations, as well as state-funded sources. Planning for grant applications encourages structure and planning for the non-profit organization. A grant may provide extra money for a special guest artist whose fee may have been out of reach of the budget, special events, and the purchase of equipment and music. The process also will bring the name of the organization to the attention of the cultural community and establish it as an asset to the Pittsburgh area as well as to its home community.

Where to apply? The Internet is your best friend in this area, and listed below is just a sampling of some of the large organizations that will grant financial assistance to community organizations. Visit their web sites to get more of an insight on the world of grants. The keyword "grants" will also give you thousands of possibilities

Allegheny Regional Asset District	www.radworkshere.org
Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (a merger of GPAA & Pro Arts)	www.pittsburghartscouncil.org
Department of Community and Economic Development	www.inventpa.com
The Foundation Center at Carnegie Library*	(412) 281-7143 E-Mail: foundation@carnegielibrary.org

*This is a special department located at the downtown branch and a free resource. An appointment must be made to work with manager of the department who will guide you through a unique computer program. The program allows an organization to input the parameters of their search and then presents a selection of foundations for review using your guidelines. The Foundation Center will help you to save the information to a disk for your own files.

Take steps to get your organization in good financial and administrative shape so that it information will be at your fingertips for the grant application:
Keep meticulous and up-to-date financial records. Granters want to see how you use your money an some may require an audited copy of financials.
Establish an annual plan - set goals for the upcoming season.
Grant applications love statistics! A few that are easy to maintain: attendance at concerts; demographics of audience members as well as band members; where you focus advertising efforts, donations, just to name a few.
Always make a good quality recording of each concert. A granter will usually ask for a "work sample" which in the case of a musical organization, would be a CD of selected works. It is also helpful to keep an archive of extra CD's, programs, posters and advertising for additional information that may be required in an application.

Writing a grant application should be a joint effort! There may be members of your organization who are whizzes at finances or creative writing. Ask! You will be surprised at the resources to be found in your own organization. Form a small committee to review the grant application, brainstorm ideas, etc. Get a volunteer to type the application in final form. The GPAC and some other grant sources may use "e-grant" which is an on-line application process and easy to use.

The benefits of applying for grants far outweigh the effort involved in making the application. Take a bold step this year and try it. Your "wish list" could become a "we did it list!"

Combined Calendar (As of September 26 , 2006 for Winter 2006)
For the updates and the entire calendar visit the online calendar

October 2006:

Sat, 7	8pm	Edgewood Symphony Orchestra	Rodef Shalom Temple, Oakland
Sat, 7	3pm	West Hills Symphonic Band	Clinton Community Park
Sun, 15	4pm	Delmont Concert Band	Ft. Ligonier Days, Ligonier
Sun, 22	3pm	North Suburban Symphonic Band	The Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center
Sun, 22		Delmont Concert Band	Arts & Apple Festival, Shields Farm, Delmont
Sat, 28	8pm	East Winds Symphonic Band	Rodef Shalom Temple, Oakland
Sat, 28	8pm	Allegheny Brass Band	Ingomar United Methodist Church, North Hills
Sun, 29	3pm	Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh	Sacred Heart Church

November 2006:

Sat, 4	7:30pm	Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra	Upper St Clair High School Theatre
Sun, 5	3pm	Aeolian Winds of Pittsburgh	Second United Presbyterian Church of Wilkinsburg
Sun, 12		Jeannette Community Band	Jeannette American Legion
Sun, 12	7:30pm	Blairsville Community Concert Band	Blairsville High School Performing Arts Center
Sat, 18	8pm	Westmoreland Symphonic Winds	Cecilian Hall, Seton Hill University

December 2006:

Sat, 2	7:30pm	East Winds Symphonic Band w/ Murrysville Festival Chorus	Franklin Regional Middle School, Murrysville
Sun, 3	7:30pm	Allegheny Brass Band	Christ Church at Grove Farm, Sewickley
Sun, 3	6pm	Delmont Concert Band	Faith United Methodist Church, Delmont
Sun, 3	4pm	The Musicians Concert Band w/ ACTS Choir	Miller Auditorium, Slippery Rock University
Sun, 3	7:30pm	West Hills Symphonic Band	Montour High School
Fri, 8	7pm	Delmont Concert Band	Light Up Night, Redstone, North Huntingdon
Sat, 9	7:30pm	Edgewood Symphony Orchestra	First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood
Sun, 10	6pm	Delmont Concert Band	Faith United Methodist Church, Delmont
Thu, 14	7pm	Delmont Concert Band	Redstone, GBG
Sat, 16	7:30pm	Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra	Upper St Clair High School Theatre
Sun, 17		Jeannette Community Band	Jeannette American Legion
Sun, 17	TBA	Community Band South	Bethel Park Community Center
Sun, 17	3pm	North Suburban Symphonic Band	The Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center

Contacting Us:

Southwestern Pennsylvania Band Partners is dedicated to helping community music groups in the southwestern Pennsylvania Region.
Please visit us online at the address below to learn more or become involved.
http://swpabandpartners.pghfree.net

To be on our mailing list send email to swpabandpartners-subscribe@yahoogroups.com with the subject subscribe

To contact us send email to info@swpabandpartners.pghfree.net

Regional Bands with websites (for updated list visit the links page)

Aeolian Winds	http://www.aeolianwinds.com/
Allegheny Brass Band	http://www.alleghenybrassband.com/
Armstrong Concert Band	http://www.geocities.com/armconband
Blairsville Community Concert Band	http://www.bccband.com/
Butler County Symphony	http://www.butlerarts.org/symphony/
Community Band South	http://cbs.pghfree.net/
East Winds Symphonic Band	http://www.ewsb.org/
Edgewood Symphony	http://www.edgewoodsymphony.org
Harmony-Zelienople Community Band	http://www.hzcb.org
Harrisville Community Band	http://www.harrisvilleband.com/
Jeannette Community Band	http://www.jcbweb.com/
Kiski Valley Community Band	http://www.kvcb.net
Kittanning Firemen's Band	http://www.kfband.com/
Musicians Concert Band	http://www.tmcband.com/default.htm
North Pittsburgh Philharmonic	http://www.northpghphilharmonic.org/
North Suburban Symphonic Band	http://www.nssband.org/
Ohio Valley Community Band	http://www.geocities.com/ovcband
Pine Creek Community Band	http://www.pinecreekband.com/
Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra	http://www.artsnet.org/pco/
Resurrection Band	http://www.boro.zelienople.pa.us/band.htm
Scottdale Concert Band	http://www.scottdaleband.com/
Somerset County Community Band	http://www.somersetcounty.com/band
Washington Symphonic Orchestra	http://www.washsym.org/
West Hills Symphonic Band	http://www.whsb.org/
Westmoreland Symphonic Winds	http://www.wswinds.org/

Contributing to the newsletter
Everyone is welcome to contribute an article to the newsletter. The topic is up to you—something you think your fellow musicians would be interested in. Just email your article to:
newsletter@swpabandpartners.pghfree.net

For additions to the website email:
info@swpabandpartners.pghfree.net

In the next newsletter
In our next newsletter due out in early January you will find:

Profile of the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra

A look at web pages: why have them? Creating and maintaining.

If you have any questions you want to see answered there, please send us an email.

Editors
Sarah McElfresh, East Winds Symphonic Band
Scott McElfresh, East Winds Symphonic Band
Kathy Wikowski, Allegheny Brass Band, North Suburban Symphonic Band

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September 26, 2006