How many concerts per season?

[bort]

For an average community band, what is a normal number of concerts per year? Just got a schedule in my email, 1 in the fall, 2 in the spring. Is this more or less than normal?

By comparison, I used to play in a few groups that ran the circuit around the retirement and nursing homes in the region. One group probably did 5 fall/5 spring. The other group was all-year, and probably did about 15 to 20/year. Another group was 1 fall/1 spring.

A balance of rehearsal and performance time is certainly important... but I think a community band needs to be more present in the community. After a while, months and months of rehearsal for 1 concert is too much, and the extra time brings little additional benefit.

But maybe that's typical? Which is more normal?

[sinfonian]

Here with the Crystal Lake Concert Band we have basically two seasons. One that runs from Labor Day to the following Memorial Day during which we do two concerts one in December and one in April. The December concert is about half Christmas music (I hate saying Holiday music) and half other music. The Christmas music seems to be about half the same year after year and the other 1/2 fresh. For these concerts we rehears one night a week for two hours.

Our other season that runs from Memorial Day to Labor day we do between 6 and 8 concerts including the local forth of July parade (on flatbed) and concert. For these we practice in May and during weeks were we don't have a concert on Tuesdays (our normal rehearsal night).

[Rick F]

I'm in two community bands. The one where we shut down for the summer months, we have eight concerts between October and May (two venues for some).

SBPB Concert Schedule - 2010 2011

The other band is 'year-around' and we have a concert about every six weeks for about 10 per year.

[Allen]

The Concord Band publishes its schedule on its web site:

http://www.concordband.org/

It's a great band to play in, with high musical standards.

[tofu]

One concert a week outside during our summer season - June-August at our performance center

Fall, Christmas, Winter and Spring concerts inside.

Yearly special concerts. For example - this year we played at the Midwest Band Clinic under the baton of Col. Arnold Gabriel, played a joint concert at Notre Dame with their band, and just a couple weeks ago did a concert at the Cantigny War Museum as an opening act for the main event - the Lt. Dan Band of actor Gary Sinese as a fundraiser for the USO.

We also do several other concerts with say 45 members instead of the usual 95. These would include a Veterans Day concert at our Carrillon, a concert on 9/11 at our local 9/11 Memorial on the Riverwalk and other small concerts throughout the city as well as playing for local city events such as the installation of elected city officials and several music events for the local VFW.

We march with the full band in the Labor Day and Memorial Day parades and do a full concert just after the Memorial Day parade with usually a military honor guard and honor local veterans both past and present and current service folks. We used to do the 4th of July parade in other towns, but have not for the last couple of years. A smaller group is used for the local Holiday parade held at night on New Years eve. We also have severa smaller ensembles within the band such as the tuba/euph ensemble and play for instance at the local restored settlement/fort during their yearly two week Christmas celebration. Besides the tuba/euph group, there is also a Big Band, a flute ensemble, a woodwind ensemble and a saxophone ensemble.

We rehearse every week of the year except with a few breaks every so often for board meetings. We are a municipal band and are paid by the city. The city also built us a rehearsal center a few years ago with a lower rehearsal space for the small ensembles and that space includes a library room, instrument storage rooms, a room for our marching uniform, summer uniform and inside concert tuxes, dressing rooms and an office for the band manager. Upstairs has washrooms, a kitchen, a display area for dispalying artifacts from the 151 years of the band, a room for the percussion equipment and more storage space that wraps around and behind the main rehearsal space which has a complete set of risers. The rehearsal space is fronted by a aircraft hanger door (that has an artist painted mural depicting the 151 year history of the band) which rises up and turns this the rehearsal space into into our outdoor concert stage. This opens up into our Central Park which is an ampitheater surrounded by mature trees. Out in the center of this is located our remote sound system run by two sound engineers. On the far side of the audience are is also a fairly large gazebo which offers refreshments including food such as pulled pork sandwiches. A lottery is held every year amongst the local non-profits and a different one every week for that summer runs the refreshments and keeps the profits. Attendance during the summer runs about 3000 - 4000 folks with the 4th of July week concert being anywhere from 6500-10,000. For that concert the local civil war re-enanactors fire off about 8 civil war howitzers for 1812 and the local historic churches that surround the park ring their bell towers .

Having played in other community bands I know we are not your typical community band. We have unbelievable community support and from other groups within the city such as the VFW/Rotary/Jaycees etc. For example, in a couple weeks when our summer season ends the city is spending $500,000 to put in a section of permanent seats similar to what is at Interlochen.

[Wyvern]

This seems to vary tremendously from band to band. My main band (The Band of the Hampshire Constabulary) has incredibly about 40 gigs per year, probably about a third are concerts as such - while another band I have just left only had 1 or 2 per year. About 6 to 10 gigs, of which 2 to 3 are concerts seems average.

[Carroll]

The community band here in Cookeville (that my wife and I play with) have rehearsal on Monday, Dress Rehearsal on Sunday, Concert on Monday. That's a concert every other week. Our regular season is Memorial Day through Labor Day with a special concert (inside) at Christmastime. Lots of TN Tech faculty, band directors (active and retired) college and HS kids, and folks from the community.

[Bandmaster]

I play in two community bands... One has concerts once a month September through July 4th plus 2 or 3 extra civic events per year. The other band is year-round with a Christmas and Spring Concert plus a Summer Concert Series that run every Thursday night (9) from July 4th to Labor Day. They also have 3 or 4 extra concerts for local civic events and Disneyland each year.

Ontario/Chaffey Comunnity Show Band

Pomona Concert Band

[DonShirer]

It varies. Most years our community band has about 8 concerts in the Spring/Summer season and 3 or 4 in the Fall. This year we had 11 scheduled (minus 3 rainouts plus two rain dates) in Spring/Summer. Another (auditioned) band I occasionally appear with only has about 6 all year.

[bearphonium]

One community band does three during the summer, and one during the winter with the local high school honor band. My other community band (a New Horizons band) does between 3-6 concerts during the school year. The marching band plays during the summer; 4 parades, one "concert in the park", one gig at the local short season A minor league team, and an assortment of catch as can performances (for instance, this year, a parade and a pep band gig in conjunction with the Pan-Am basketball tournament). The tuba ensemble plays a concert in the park, hosts a "Tuba Carol Christmas", plays 8-10 gigs at various locations (farmer's market, coffee house, garden tours) and a bunch at retirement homes.

This has been a busy summer!

[Tuba-G Bass]

I also play in two concert bands, Bethlehem Municipal Band has 12 concerts from May to Sept.
and two Christmas concerts, and rehearses all year round.
Easton Municipal Band has 13 concerts May to Oct. and one or two Christmas concerts,
and rehearses most of the year.

Bethlehem Muni, is taking most of August off, [so we all can go on Vacation]
I also sing Bass in the Central Moravian Church choir,
play Contrabass Trombone in the Bethlehem Moravian Trombone Choir [est. 1754]
and play Tuba in the church Brass group,
and Sousaphone in the Allentown Hobo "Almost" Marching Band.
So usually three rehearsals a week.

Music is practically a full time job!

[TubaBobH]

When I played in the Woodlands Concert Band, The Woodlands, TX, we prepared four concert programs a year - fall, Christmas, spring, 4th of July. We typically performed each program two or three times. So, we gave 8 to 12 concerts a year.

[1895King]

I'm a member of 5 different groups here in the Great Falls, MT, area. I'll try to post the varied schedules:

The Winds of Montana: (Mostly current and retired music educators) We rehearse once or twice a year on a Saturday and give a concert the following day. Our two conductors send the music out in advance so we can at least look it over prior to rehearsal.

University of Great Falls-Community Concert Band: We rehearse for 2 hours on Thursday evenings from September 1 to late April and give 3 concerts, one around the end of October, a second around February 1, and the last around the end of April.

Great Falls Municipal Band: Weekly rehearsals from mid-June to mid-August with a concert the following evening; 2 parades, and today we play for a minor league baseball game. This is the band's 117th consecutive season.

Fort Benton City Band: Weekly rehearsals in June and a 2 day stint at the town's annual summer celebration. Seven or eight of us from Great Falls go out to help them out.

Choteau City Band: Occasional rehearsals and at least 2 performances per summer, again several Great Falls musicians help out.

[bort]

Thanks for all the responses so far! Like I thought, this is a bit on the low end of normal, but not unheard of.

It's always a bit disappointing to me to go through so many rehearsals for so few performance opportunities. I played with a community band quite a few years back, and every rehearsal was just about the same. Practice the same order. Start and stop the same places. Work over the same things. I used to call it the "Groundhog's Day" band (like the Bill Murray movie... ).

Oh well, this isn't my only playing outlet... just curious!

[scottw]

It varies a little bit from year to year, but 25-30 is pretty much in the right range. Between community bands, brass ensembles, Civil War band, and the usual assortment of quintet dates, I am quite busy. It is really odd that tomorrow I will play for the first time in 6 1/2 weeks after my knee replacements---I can't remember ever going that long without playing!I can't wait, although my performance might leave something to be desired.

[Lew]

I have been in a total of 6 different community bands (and one amateur brass band). Most of them rehearsed and performed year round with typically 4 or 5 Summer concerts and anywhere from 2 to 5 Winter concerts, and then a 1 or 2 in Spring or Fall. Where I am now the "Civic Band" has exactly 3 Summer concerts per year with 9 rehearsals leading up to those concerts. That is the entirety of their season. There are a few other bands in some of the surrounding communities, but unfortunately I can't fit them in. I agree it would be nice to have a few more playing opportunities, but what you have found is not that unusual, even though it might be on the low end.

[Arthur]

My local town band, The Rusty Skippers of Cohasset, MA has a split season. We do around 10 performances from the Memorial Day parade up to the middle of September. We then reconvene in late October for our winter season which is about 4 performances over the holidays. While we are in season we rehearse 1 1/2 hours each week.