Playing music together for FORTY years! (Auburn Community Band) скачать в хорошем качестве

Playing music together for FORTY years! (Auburn Community Band)

AUBURN, Ind. (WPTA21) - Every Thursday night, after students have long cleared the hallways, the band room at DeKalb Middle School erupts with music. Inside, you’ll find a group of music enthusiasts boasting a diverse range of experience and age. They’re who make up the Auburn Community Band. “Well, the band got started in 1982 — I was one of the first members,” Dick Shankle told us. “I was playing in Fort Wayne, and commuting back and forth, with Mizpah Shrine band, and I thought it would be nice to have something locally.” Shankle, along with friend and band director Dick Norris, started recruiting players. Now, the group is entering its 40th year. Still active as a founder, the baritone player admits after a couple decades, he switched instruments from the Tuba as it became too cumbersome to carry. Tom Laverghetta was at the Auburn Community Band’s first practice. He began playing the trumpet at 9-years-old, even taking it with him on-board ships after he joined the Navy. “Music has never left. It’s always been there, and I hope it always is,” he told us. Part of the band’s longevity, he says, is because of community participation. There are no dues, and it’s open to players as young as 8th grade. In the summer, they often fill up with high school students looking to keep their skills up until the next school year. “It is rare that a band in that small of town is going to last forty years,” Laverghetta explained. “But what it is, we like to play music. That’s it. And that’s what’s presented to us. A chance to play music.” And there are a lot of family connections within the group. Father and son duo, Gary and Nick Nordmann, fill out the percussion section. “Ive been with this band, maybe ten years,” Gary Nordmann shared. “My father, believe it or not, was also a drummer. He encouraged me to play drums. And my son Nick is in this band, so there’s a three generation connection.” Nick Nordmann stopped playing drums shortly after graduation — mostly due in part, to the reality of living in an apartment. Time passed quickly before he prioritized practicing again. “About 20 years went by before I picked up drumsticks again,” Nick Nordmann told us. “Life is busy. Obligations come up and they have to be taken care of. So we learn each others parts. If I can’t be here, he’s more than ready to sit in on the drums and vice versus.” Listen to more stories of how music has influenced their lives, and the band truly represents the word community. Don Riley is the band’s third director in its 40-year history. He’s one of the few people involved, who made music his profession — teaching at the high school level. Former student Angela Bassett is now his co-director, after coming up in the band, getting a music degree, and coming back. “We helped her grow, and now she’s teaching us,” Shankle reflected. “At first, it was a little strange being on the same level,” Bassett said, “but now I think we work really well together.” A wide range of skill levels are accepted. “Some people pick it up quickly. Some people, it takes a little time,” she told us. “We’re patient and help the people who need the help.” “It’s a very consistent group of people that you just anticipate — you know they’re going to be here every rehearsal they possibly can,” Riley shared. “These people are adults. We have a lot of professionals in the band, doctors and those kind of people — This may sound strange. I don’t expect them to practice. I figure we have to get the work done in here.” That applies, to one of the younger members of the group, Alex Smith. “This is the one time of the week I’m able to play — I’m very busy during the week,” she told us. “My senior year of high school, I started coming with my then-boyfriend, now-husband. And he came because his grandfather was in the band.” Despite practicing often when she first joined, her section remained far more advanced than her. “I was really impressed because they all played better than I do,” she admitted. “I aspire to be like them — it gives me hope for the future!” Four decades later, not much has changed for the Auburn Community Band. And that’s what makes it so special. “You’ll see people take a lot of pride in this band,” Gary Nordmann said. “We take a lot of pride in each other — we’re very supportive.” “I know there are other bands. There’s the Fort Wayne Community Band, the legion band, the New Horizon Band,” Shankle said proudly, “but the Auburn Community Band ranks right up at the top.”