By Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent
People who love to play music are now invited to join the new Woodstock Town Band, a joint effort by two local residents whose goal is to connect people through this universal language.
Mark Van Gulden, ArtisTree music director, and Jody Henderson, WUHSMS music instructor, initiated the idea after years of participating in community events together.
“The idea of a local community band arose quite naturally as Mark and I have crossed musical paths through participating in these events,” said Henderson. “As potential organizers, we share an appreciation for building community around music and are also aware of some successful and active regional community bands.”
The ideal band would bring together generations of musicians with diverse musical backgrounds, Henderson explained.
“Everyone from adults who stopped playing after high school or college to retired professional musicians to advancing middle school students are welcome to attend,” said Henderson. “It would be as inclusive as possible.”
While the group might not include beginners, it would serve as a realistic goal for anyone interested in starting an instrumental music experience, inspiring beginners to access other available resources, Henderson said.
Van Gulden indicated that ArtisTree is eager to hear from all instrumentalists interested in playing with others. Although community bands typically include a mix of woodwind, brass and percussion, a small community band upon start-up may be most successfully served by some degree of flexibility regarding instrumentation.
“This could lead to anything from playing seasonal or themed music to classical chamber music to artist tribute concerts,” said Van Gulden.
Rehearsals will be planned to include progressive and staggered activities allowing potential members to attend rehearsal segments that best fit their abilities, Henderson related.
Participants could “start out” or “jump into” a rehearsal process based on their ability and experience level. Members seeking the most time and assistance in rehearsal could access that prior to being joined by those who may not need as much direction.
Others who are able to contribute to the group through minimal rehearsal, or even by offering strong sight reading abilities, could be offered those opportunities to participate in that way, Henderson explained.
The start-up process would entail a potential member survey that wouldinclude input about the
frequency of rehearsals, likely to occur at ArtisTree or one of the Windsor Central Supervisory Union schools.
“At the top of our list of things to do is to get a community set up to start rehearsing regularly or at least seasonally,” said Henderson.
The evolving rehearsals, that include progressive and staggered activities, might be divided into three 30-minute blocks, he added.
During the first 30 minutes, there might be a review of some basic band exercises planned to include tone production, simple melodies, scales and rhythmic drills, for example.
“This would help those who haven’t played in a while to get reoriented with their instruments and music abilities,” said Henderson.
The second 30 minutes might have members be introduced to andrehearse music for potential performance.
“They would engage in learning and improving strategies to assist those players who might not be capable in sight reading through such performance selections,” said Henderson.
The third 30-minute period would be an opportunity for members to play through all the music covered to that point in the rehearsal.
“This would allow more experienced musicians capable of sight reading through the performance selections to participate in the group with an appropriately reduced time commitment,” said Henderson.
Participants could plan to jump into a rehearsal process based on ability and experience.
“For instance, those seeking the most time and assistance in rehearsals can access that prior to being joined by others who may not need as much direction,” said Henderson.
Others who are able to contribute to the group through minimal rehearsal or even by offering strong sight-reading abilities can be offered those opportunities to participate in that way, Henderson added.
“Putting this together in Woodstock by working to build a group that can grow together and eventually perform would be a lot of fun,” said Henderson. “Some terrific potential exists to collaborate with ArtisTree, the local WCSU school bands, and other entities in our community. We hope to hear from you!”
Those wishing to participate can visit https://sites.google.com/view/woodstocktownband or woodstocktownband@gmail. com. Interested applicants should fill out the online survey at the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/G7H572MPUmvI8Dpu1