Norwich City Band ready to soak up the spotlight on East Park stage
NORWICH – For decades, the Norwich City Band has taken to the parks in downtown Norwich to delight music lovers young and old. Now with a new summer concert season underway, band members are taking up their instruments once again for a series of free performances.
The Norwich City Band is scheduled to hit the East Park stage beginning at 7 p.m. every Friday through August 9. With musical scores that range from contemporary show tunes and popular ballads to the more classical marches and patriotic hymns, there’s something to appeal to everyone’s musical tastes, said band manager Lee Wilhelm.
“This is a summertime tradition that’s obviously not only for the band’s enjoyment, but for the enjoyment of the community as well.” said Wilhelm, who has been overseeing the ensemble for more than three decades. “We come out and play between 12 and 14 songs every week for six consecutive weeks and, of course, it’s a Friday night tradition that we’re very proud of.”
Under the direction of Sherburne-Earlville Central School music teacher Gary Solomon, the band got the annual concert season off the ground last Friday with its first performance in front of a crowd of more than 50 people. The approximately 55 members who make up the musical group hope to pick up this week where they left off, opening with songs that include “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “YMCA,” “Rock Around the Clock,” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”
“We are all proud that we have been doing this for such a long time,” Wilhelm added.
The band, first incorporated in 1906, shares a diverse group of players, from high school students on summer vacation to the long-retired and more seasoned musicians, he pointed out. Wilhelm, a trombone player himself, said, “In some cases, there’s two or three generations of family members playing side by side. It’s grandfathers and grandmothers playing along with their grandchildren.”
While the band has certainly changed faces over its 100 year history, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed, Wilhelm noted.
“We always finish each performance by playing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Free performances of the Norwich City Band this year are made possible with funding from the RC Smith Foundation, the Greater Norwich Foundation, and the City of Norwich.
Said Wilhelm, “This band has been supported by the community ever since it began ... It’s been such a marvelous tradition for so many years and we hope it’s something that will keep up for a long time to come.”
The Norwich City Band is scheduled to hit the East Park stage beginning at 7 p.m. every Friday through August 9. With musical scores that range from contemporary show tunes and popular ballads to the more classical marches and patriotic hymns, there’s something to appeal to everyone’s musical tastes, said band manager Lee Wilhelm.
“This is a summertime tradition that’s obviously not only for the band’s enjoyment, but for the enjoyment of the community as well.” said Wilhelm, who has been overseeing the ensemble for more than three decades. “We come out and play between 12 and 14 songs every week for six consecutive weeks and, of course, it’s a Friday night tradition that we’re very proud of.”
Under the direction of Sherburne-Earlville Central School music teacher Gary Solomon, the band got the annual concert season off the ground last Friday with its first performance in front of a crowd of more than 50 people. The approximately 55 members who make up the musical group hope to pick up this week where they left off, opening with songs that include “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “YMCA,” “Rock Around the Clock,” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”
“We are all proud that we have been doing this for such a long time,” Wilhelm added.
The band, first incorporated in 1906, shares a diverse group of players, from high school students on summer vacation to the long-retired and more seasoned musicians, he pointed out. Wilhelm, a trombone player himself, said, “In some cases, there’s two or three generations of family members playing side by side. It’s grandfathers and grandmothers playing along with their grandchildren.”
While the band has certainly changed faces over its 100 year history, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed, Wilhelm noted.
“We always finish each performance by playing “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Free performances of the Norwich City Band this year are made possible with funding from the RC Smith Foundation, the Greater Norwich Foundation, and the City of Norwich.
Said Wilhelm, “This band has been supported by the community ever since it began ... It’s been such a marvelous tradition for so many years and we hope it’s something that will keep up for a long time to come.”
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