This Friday at 7 p.m., the Lake Area Community Band will be featured in the Friday evening concert series at Center Lake Park.
The audience is encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
The Lake Area Community Band has been bringing the “Joy of Music to Our Communities” since 1989, according to a news release from Director Martin Becker. The band truly is the lake area community band as this season’s schedule includes nine concerts across several lake communities in Northern Indiana.
In December 1988, the idea for a community band in Kosciusko County was born. The first rehearsal of the Lake Area Community Band was held at Wawasee High School on May 22, 1989. There were 20 interested musicians present.
On June 5, just two weeks later, an inaugural concert was performed with the Elkhart Municipal Band. The first solo concert played by the newly formed band was in August; from that starting point, the band had 12 appearances that year.
The band is a 501(c) (3) non-for-profit organization. The band is currently celebrating their 33rd year and has a current roster of 50 members ranging in age from 16 to 84.
The band is under the direction of Becker and has an entertaining program prepared. According to Becker, the 50-member concert band has “a great program planned for the audience with a variety of music.” The program will take the audience on a “musical vacation” featuring some wonderful destinations.”
The program will begin with a Spanish concert march titled “Marcia Latina,” and next a stop to Scotland and Ireland performing “Gaelic Rhapsody.”
A favorite medley of “Disney at the Movies” features 12 songs from some of Disney’s best loved movies. A Roaring Twenties style of jazz will also be presented with composer Warren Barker’s “New York 1927.” From Broadway shows the band will perform “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel” and “Highlights from South Pacific.”
The Lake Area Community Band Assistant Director Joe Peloza will take the podium with a trip out of this world with “Star Wars Themes” by John Williams.
The program will include some jazz featuring Becker on trumpet and Brad Baum on tenor sax with some New Orleans Blues titled “Big Easy Blues.”
A band concert is never complete without some stirring marches and will also be included in the program.
On Saturday, the Lake Area Community Band has been chosen to perform at the Greenwood Band Festival along with seven other community bands from around the state. The Lake Area Community Band performance will take place at 1 p.m. in the Greenwood Community Center Amphitheater, 100 Surina Way, Greenwood.
