By Katharine Wilson
The University Band and the Maryland Community Band brought together students and adults who wished to keep their passions for music alive through their joint band concert.
The April 7 concert was held in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Bands performed both contemporary and traditional wind band music.
The free concert was held in the Dekelboum Concert Hall. Friends and family of the performers sat in the traditional audience seats and theater boxes along the side walls of the venue.
The University Band played four pieces, conducted by four different conductors. One conductor was senior music major Eric Aaron, who was invited to conduct the band before he begins student teaching in the future. The other three conductors were UMD’s Assistant Director of Bands Craig Potter and first year doctorate students Christine Higley and Brad Jopek.
The Maryland Community played three pieces conducted by their interim music director, Alexander Scott.
The Maryland Community Band is made up of adults in the greater Baltimore/Washington community. The band was started as an outreach project by the University of Maryland School of Music. The community band invites adults of any skill level to play, which encourages members of the community who have non-musical careers to still perform.
“The Maryland Community Band is a group of dedicated, amateur musicians who gather to find community and play together. Members come from all walks of life and work in all sorts of fields… but we are united by our love of music,” said Sarah Flinspach, the President of the Board of Directors for the community band.
The University Band is a band of UMD students, many of whom are non-music majors. The band’s main appeal is that it is accepting of students with all experience levels. This allows students to continue their passion for orchestral performance that for many started during childhood. Such students would have few opportunities to continue performing with the strict audition process that other campus bands require. The audition process for University Band is more about seat placement than about being accepted.
“Music has always been a really big part of my life,” said Namiko Randall, a junior architecture student. As a flutist, Randall said that the band is a way for non-music majors to “just to play music and just have fun.”
Matthew Killian, a senior aerospace engineering major, has been playing the tuba for around 12 years. The University Band allowed him to continue this hobby. “You’re welcomed into it and we try to enjoy ourselves while playing,” said Killian.
Because both bands are inclusive to players of all playing abilities, Killian said he “see[s] the Community Band is kind of like an extension of the University Band.”
The two bands often share concerts because of this connection, though the bands rehearse on different nights.
Other university bands include the UMD Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, several jazz bands and the two bands who play during sporting events: The Mighty Sound of Maryland and Pep Band.