OXFORD – For nearly four decades, the Oxford Community Band has provided entertainment for local residents and the summer of 2010 will see more of the same as the group prepares to perform the first of five scheduled concerts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in LaFayette Park.

The ensemble, comprised of approximately 25 to 30 local musicians who perform on a weekly basis, will be led once again by retired music teacher and long-time conductor Francis Wilcox, according to Community Band Treasurer Tom Rice, whose involvement with the group dates back to his Oxford High School days.

“It’s an institution in Oxford,” stated Rice. “It’s been on Thursday nights for decades now and the community has been wonderful all these years.”

Supported by the Town and Village of Oxford, the band is scheduled to perform in LaFayette Park for three consecutive weeks, July 8, 15 and 22, with two other scheduled performances – July 29 in Washington Park and the Bida Adult Home and Aug. 5 at the Oxford Historical Society.