by Daniel S. Diamond, PhD
In 1994, when the Concord Band
began to search for the successor to William M. Toland, who was planning to retire
after 32 years as the Band's first
Music Director, I proposed that we
adopt as our motto
The Community
Band with a Professional Attitude to
distinguish ourselves from most other
community bands.
We are not a professional band.
The majority of our members do not support
themselves from income earned playing
their instruments. Furthermore, Concord
Band members are volunteers; the
only paid members of the Band are our
Music Director and Assistant Conductor.
So what does it mean for the nonprofessional
Concord Band to have a professional
attitude? It means that we make
a significant effort to do everything both
musically and in support of our musical
product-as well as we can, subject
to our natural skills, training, the amount
of personal time available and the Band's
resources. In a past
Notes from the Concord
Band newsletter, I wrote that in the
area of marketing, the Concord Band
really has to do most everything that the
Boston Symphony Orchestra does, but
only with volunteers and substantially less
budget.
 |
William M. Toland
Music Director Laureate |
Over time, any community-based
music performance organization will seek
to improve itself through more innovative
programming and performances of increasing
quality. These will attract larger
audiences and more skilled members.
These, in turn, will make it possible for
the ensemble to tackle more difficult
works. Each of the Concord Band's three
Music Directors has had his own approach.
William M. Toland, named Music Director
Laureate shortly after his death, focused on what he considered to be good music, but avoided music that he thought was too demanding. He initiated
the important practice of bringing in high caliber
guest conductors, adding an important
dimension to the education and
experience of our members.
Working with a new or guest conductor
is a very special experience, particularly
for amateur musicians. Each conductor
has his or her own unique characteristics,
both in rehearsing a piece of music
and in communicating information about
it during a performance. Guest conductors
tend to elevate almost everything in a
player: One's attention level is elevated
significantly. Preparation for rehearsals
and performances with a guest conductor
is noticeably more intense than usual. All
of this inevitably leads to an improved
performance level, which one hopes will
carry forward.
 |
Dr. William G. McManus
Music Director Emeritus |
Concord Band guest conductors have
included Frederick Fennell, William Revelli,
Arnald Gabriel, Leonard B. Smith,
John Corley, Willis Traphagan, Peter
Hazzard, Lee Chrisman, James Curnow,
Steven Grimo, Thomas G. Everett, Alfred
Dentino, Christopher Morehouse, Paul
Berler, William H. Silvester, Malcolm W.
Rowell, Steven Barbas, Elliot Del Borgo
and Keith Brion.
Music Director Emeritus, Dr. William
G. McManus, was willing to have
the Band take on challenging works, which depended on members' polishing their
parts at home and he planned for extra
rehearsal time before presenting such
works in concert.
 |
James O'Dell
Music Director |
Current Music Director, James
O'Dell, assumes that the Concord
Band can handle pretty much anything,
but in his first decade, at least,
he has avoided works that would require
so much personal practice and
rehearsal time that it would detract
from other pieces on a program.
What has been the result of the
efforts of our three Music Directors
and our membership, in which there is
very little turnover? In 2013, the
Concord Band received the Sudler Silver Scroll from the John Philip Sousa Foundation. This award, "North America's
most prestigious award for community
concert bands, recognizes community
concert bands of outstanding musical
excellence." The Concord Band was the
first community band in New England to
receive the Sudler Silver Scroll.
The first five pieces written for the
Concord Band were all gifts. In 1974, the
Town of Concord Bicentennial Celebration
Committee provided small sums to
the Concord Band, Orchestra and Players
to have works written on the occasion of
the Bicentennial. Concord Band Music
Director William M. Toland approached
internationally recognized composer Norman
Delio Joio, who proposed re-scoring
his own piano composition,
Satiric
Dances for a Comedy by Aristophanes,
for wind ensemble. This first commission
of the Concord Band has been extremely
successful. It has been performed all over
the world by concert bands from high
school to professional military bands.
Additional composers of works for
the Concord Band have included Peter
Hazzard, Richard Cornell, Robert Sirota,
John Bavicchi, Douglas Toland, Kurt
Phinney, Warren Barker, John Higgins,
James Curnow, Thomas J. McGah, Dan
Lutz, Stephen Bulla, William Gordon,
Lewis Buckley, Julie Giroux, Elliot Del
Borgo, Jerry Seeco, Roger Cichy, Andrew
Boysen, Jr., Rene Pfister et al, Jerry Vabulas,
William M. Toland, and Dr. William
G. McManus.
Dan Diamond is the senior
member of the Concord
Band, having joined the
Band as a percussionist in
January, 1970, and is now
in his 50th year. He has
been a member of its
Board of Trustees for
most of his time in the
Band. In 2009, he received
the Band's Lifetime Service
Award.
Equally at home on the recital stage, Elaine's voice and stage presence have been described by critics as "sparkling", "exquisite", and "absolutely radiant". As recitalist and oratorio singer, Elaine has been a featured soprano soloist with such groups as the Worcester Chorus, Salisbury Singers, Great Waters Music Festival, Maplewind Arts, and Valley Light Opera. “Her voice soars…” in such works as the Requiems of Mozart and Brahms, Vaughan Williams’ Benedicite, Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s Mass in C. Her versatility in concert and recital work spans from opera, oratorio and art song to the lyrical music of Broadway, and Elaine frequently performs a wide variety of sacred and secular concert repertoire throughout the New England area. In a more intimate setting, she also performs for weddings, funerals and other church functions and sacred events. In 2016 Elaine made her debut on NPR as a featured soloist on Says You!
Philip Lupsiewicz
