ST. MARYS, OH (WLIO) - The St. Marys Area Community Band is kicking off its 10th anniversary season this year with back-to-back free Sousa concerts. Bethany Ulrick caught up with the musicians to hear how they got their start and learn more about this weekend's show.
The St. Marys Area Community Band has over 60 members from 18 different communities, including Mercer, Van Wert, and Allen Counties. They welcome musicians of all skill levels, whether they've been playing for a couple of years or for decades. For a city the size of St. Marys, a band like this isn't common, but the region is very supportive of the arts.
"I retired from St. Marys as Director of Bands in the spring of 2013. The person that followed me kept badgering me over the course of the next year to start a community band just to do things like we've discussed, to have an opportunity to play. So that next summer we started, and here we are," said Dane Newlove, director and founder of the St. Marys Area Community Band.
Most of the musicians in the band don't perform for a living, so they're glad to be able to pick their instrument back up, learn and perform alongside others with a shared passion, and give their friends and neighbors several great shows a year.
"We all learned how to play instruments in high school. Most of us have been playing throughout, and it's just great to have an opportunity to play your instrument in a setting like this with Dane, who's a great conductor and educator for our hometown. We get great crowds, whether it's at Summerfest or First Fridays, or with these John Philip Sousa concerts. We have great crowds, and they really appreciate us playing," explained Jeff Squire, a founding member of the St. Marys Area Community Band.
The 2024 season will start off strong with concerts honoring John Philip Sousa. "Stars and Stripes Forever: The Sousa Experience" will be full of patriotic songs, guest solo performances, and a special guest conductor—a St. Henry native who has spent decades studying and performing as Sousa and now gets to bring the act to his hometown on Friday.
"Sousa was—you hate to use the analogy, but he was as popular as Taylor Swift was back in the late 1800s, early 1900s. I mean, he was the rock star of the day. And so it's important that people understand his role in music, his role in our country, his role in his fellowship with other countries as well," stated Rod Miller, guest conductor and John Philip Sousa reenactor.
The St. Marys Area Community Band will perform this Saturday, June 22, 2024, in the Performing Arts Center at St. Marys Memorial High School, located at 2250 OH-66, St Marys, OH 45885, at 7 p.m.
