Community Band Festival a huge success

August 4, 2014

Some members of our community participated in this band concert north of the border

by Carmen Jones

The Many Bays Community Band hosted its first annual Community Band Festival in Riondel, British Columbia on June 21 and 22, and it was a phenomenal success! The mass bands included the Creston, British Columbia Community Band, and other British Columbia community bands from Kimberly, Slocan, and Many Bays. This band festival was an unusual one.  At most festivals, the bands perform for each other; at ours, the musicians all played together.  Over 70 musicians came to play piccolo, flute, clarinet, saxophone (alto, tenor, baritone), French Horn, trombone, trumpet, euphonium, tuba, timpani, and all the other percussion instruments.  The chairpersons had some sleepless moments wondering how and if it would all work... On the Saturday morning, all the musicians were seated in the Riondel Community Center auditorium, ready to play at 9:15 am.  Their "job" was to follow four different conductors, know the music for the 12 compositions selected, and blend with all the other musicians.  That is quite an expectation. The sound was incredible and magnificent!  Within minutes, the excitement of what was to come electrified our musical space.  The weekend was a very emotional one for those musicians who had never played in a fully-orchestrated concert band before. The festival ended with a free public concert to showcase our hard work over the weekend.  Our audience filled the space left, and by their applause and standing ovation, we all knew that they were as moved by the music as we were.  The program was varied: from marches to popular music to classical, as we ended with The 1812 Overture. Before the weekend was over, the other bands were talking about hosting this band festival next year.  We can't wait! We had some social time during the weekend that included a Friday night jam and meals with lively conversation at Dutch Harbor Camp in a perfect, beautiful Kootenay Lake setting. This wonderful festival would not happen without financial support by several local sponsors. The Creston band is looking for musicians in all sections. Everyone is welcome whether you have played for many years or haven’t played for a long time and want to get back into playing your instrument. The band rehearses on Monday nights 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. PST, just 15 minutes north of the Porthill border. For information call Carmen on 610-1408.