It may be summertime, but it has still been a busy week for Band! The JFH Summer Band program is off to a great start and will end with a concert on June 29 at 7pm, in the JFHMS auditorium. One of the groups I perform in also had three performances this week; the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Concert Band has been busy too. HRCB is a fun, community Concert Band that is open to anyone who plays a traditional band instrument. The http://www.hrcband.com website states,
“The HRCB has been playing music in the Shenandoah Valley for over 30 years. The Band traces its lineage back to the late 19th/early 20th century but took the form of the modern-day concert band in 1984. The HRCB is made up of musicians from middle school age to Golden Agers, with backgrounds in music ranging from novice to professional. The HRCB was formed exclusively for charitable and educational purposes to benefit the community through the practice, performance, and presentation of concert band music. The HRCB provides an artistic and recreational experience for anyone wishing to pursue instrumental music in the traditional concert band format. The HRCB performs throughout the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Some of the Band’s regular performances include the summer concert series at James Madison University, the Bridgewater Summer Concert Series, visits to area retirement homes, and the annual “Celebrate America! 4th of July Concert” with the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society, and culminates with several Christmas performances.The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Concert Band is under the direction of Melissa Bushong Harper. Contact Cathy Clare Brown cbrown@rockingham.k12.va.us for more info about joining HRCB. We meet at Wilbur S Pence MS on Tuesday nights, 7:30-9:00pm.”
Back when I was in college, the HRCB Director was Bill Posey. Bill also happened to be the JMU Assistant Director of the Marching Royal Dukes, and one of my favorite people. Bill knew I was a “local kid”, who was around during the summertime, so I got drafted. At some point during 1987-90, Bill asked me to help out the HRCB by playing piccolo with them on a parade float in Timberville. If I’m not mistaken, I think it was on the Bandwagon that is now on display in the Plains Area Museum, and dang that was a bumpy ride! I met and got to know a few of the folks in the HRCB at that time, and they invited me to come to rehearsals anytime. Bill, Ray W, Hannah B, and Carrol B were fun to make music with, and all were pretty convincing on the recruiting aspect. We rehearsed up on the hill in the Price-Rotary senior center in Westover Park on Tuesday nights. As we outgrew our rehearsal facility, we moved on to Thomas Harrison Middle School, and later to TAHS, and then Wilbur Pence MS. I invited my best and brightest students to join us over the years and was able to make music with them and in many cases with their parents too, in a whole new way. I have been so lucky to make music with amazing people in HRCB over 30+ years. Our current conductor Melissa and I were in Band together in high school, and she was also an HRCB member, along with her dad and uncles, from being a middle schooler.
Here is a shout out to the Broadway area HRCB members over the years, according to the email list. The names in bold are folks who still play with HRCB today :o) Melora, Heather, Stephanie, Zach and his mom Nancy, Matt and his mom Margaret, Brandon, Mike, Rebecca, Roxanne, Mike and mom Diane, Darin and dad Jim, Rachel and dad Paul, Quintas, Steve and mom Suzanne, Crystal, Rachel and sister “Crash”, Steve, Olivia, Samantha, Perry, David, Sarah, Becky, Heather, Crystal A, Tyler, David, Evan, Matt, Christian, Jessie, Phillip, Katrina and Nick and dad, Sydney, Allison, Hannah, Sam, Kaitlyn, Mallory, Paige, Talen, Samuel, my own kid Morgan, Morgan2, Morgan3 and Morgan4 (if you are a Morgan who I taught, you know who is who :o), Grace, Tara, Dakota, Victoria, Vincent, Karis, Olivia, Marshal, William, Caleb, James, Harley and my kid Lily– Sorry if I missed someone, send me an email and fuss at me, so I can say hi and apologize. If you are interested in returning to us or in joining us for the first time, we will be wrapping up the summer season in a couple of weeks but will start the winter season off in late September. Go blow the dust off your horn and send me an email so I can get you on our email list! cbrown@rockingham.k12.va.us
