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AUBURN — The month of January marks the Auburn Community Concert Band’s semi-annual open-membership period. All musicians who wish to participate in the band’s upcoming summer concert performances have until Jan. 25 to join the group and start participating in weekly rehearsals.
The 40-plus member concert band has an immediate need for alto and tenor sax players, along with percussion players who can read music. The band would also like to add members to its flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, French horn and tuba sections.
Membership requires limited conflicts with the group’s schedule of weekly Wednesday rehearsals and concerts, and musicians must have their own instruments.
From January through early June, band members rehearse from 7 to 9 p.m. every Wednesday at the High Street Congregational Church in Auburn.
From mid-June through late August, the band presents weekly Wednesday evening concerts. Weather permitting, these free 75-minute performances take place at Festival Plaza in downtown Auburn. In the case of inclement weather, concerts take place indoors at the Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston.
A different selection of music is featured each week, appealing to audiences both young and old. The anticipated dates for the 2017 summer concert series are June 21 through Aug. 23.
This summer will mark the organization’s 36th consecutive season. Director Milt Simon formed the group in 1981 to offer musicians who had once been members of their high school and college bands an opportunity to continue using and improving their performance skills. Members of the ACCB currently range in age from 15 to 92, and represent some 14 central Maine towns. Membership is open to anyone knowing how to play a wind or percussion instrument.
“New members are often nervous when attending their first few rehearsals, due to the numerous years since they last touched or played their instrument,” Simon said, but added that most people regain their former musical skills within a short period of time. “It’s like riding a bicycle. Once you have learned how to do it, you never forget. You just may be a bit out of practice”
He said that the opportunity to perform in front of large audiences, numbering 300 to 400 people on a weekly basis, is typically quite appealing to both amateur and experienced musicians.
Additional information about the group is posted at www.auburncommunityband.com. Interested musicians are asked to call Simon at 782-3917 prior to attending their first rehearsal.
