Friday, September 30, 2005

Lifetime Service Awards to Richter and Siebert

In 2002 the Concord Band Board of Directors introduced the Lifetime Service Award, intended to honor individuals whose participation, over a significant span of time, has made a fundamental difference to the Concord Band.  On October 29, 2005, Concord Band Lifetime Service Awards will be given to Edwin W. Richter and William M. Siebert. Their Award plaques will read as follows:
Ed Richter
trombone
During his three decades as a member of the Concord Band, until his retirement in 2002, Edwin Richter was a solid player, not only on his baritone horn, but as a fully involved Band member. He served on the Band’s Board of Directors, acting simultaneously as Band Manager and representative to the FOPAC Board. He designed and built lighting systems for outdoor evening concerts and collected invaluable memoirs from Band members for presentation to retiring Music Director William Toland. Ed’s late wife Margaret and their children assisted in many band activities. The Concord Band is pleased to honor Edwin Richter for his years of wonderful good humor, dedicated service and fine musicianship.
Bill Siebert
clarinet
Clarinetist William M. Siebert was one of the founding members of the Concord Band in 1959 and served on its Board. In its early days, before it became a strictly concert organization, Bill enjoyed marching with the Band in the Patriots and Memorial Day parades. Bill recalls a time when the Band was happy when more than 20 members attended rehearsals! A founder and Board member of FOPAC, he helped convince the town of Concord to permit the conversion of the old Veterans Building into the successful Performing Arts Center that it has been since 1975. Throughout Bill’s tenure in the Concord Band his thoughtful opinions were helpful in guiding the Band’s mission.

An Honor Roll has been created and is displayed prominently in the 51 Walden lobby to keep these individuals in our collective long-term memory.

Past Award recipients have been Bill Burdine and William Toland (2002), Carl Getz and Robert Turkington (2003), and Gene Parish and William R. Phelan (2004).

Thursday, September 1, 2005

Meet the Saxophone Section

At a recent concert, the Concord Band's saxophone section, left to right: Jerry Kriedberg (alto),
Gwenn O'Keeffe (alto), Judy Piermarini (tenor), Dave Southard (tenor) and Larry Rubin (baritone).

According to the Instrument Encyclopedia, the saxophone is a relatively young instrument, having been invented by Belgian manufacturer, Adolphe Sax, and exhibited to the world for the first time at the 1841 Brussels Exhibition. It is classified along with the clarinet as a single-reed woodwind, but is actually a hybrid, borrowing elements from both the clarinet and double-reed oboe. The saxophone was originally available in fourteen different sizes and keys. Currently, four sizes and keys of saxophone have been standardized — the soprano (B♭), the alto (E♭), the tenor (B♭), and the baritone (E♭) — see insert below.