I joined the Concord Band
a few months after finishing my doctorate
at MIT's Sloan School of Management
and moving to Acton. I had been made
aware of the Band by my next-door
neighbor, the late Brad Fuller, who
played French horn in the Band at the
time. I had not played since the end of my
senior year in 1965. My four years as a
member of the MIT Symphony had been
quite wonderful, getting to know and play
with the some people who, like me, despite
their primary interests in their upcoming
careers as scientists, engineers,
academicians or managers, also took music
very seriously.
In this last of many articles I have
written or edited for
Notes, the
Concord Band newsletter, I want to review just a few of
the more important achievements of my
50 years (not to pat myself on my back,
but to make it clear that nothing happens
unless someone takes the initiative) and
to identify the directions in which I
would like to see the Band go in the coming
years.
One thing I would like to point out:
very few of the things I have done for the
Concord Band are directly related to music. As I have made clear to the members of the Band
over the years, it takes much more than
making good music to be an effective
member of the Concord Band. I am not
planning to retire as an active playing
member of the Concord Band, only from
most of my non-musical activities.
A Few Past Achievements
In 1970, I persuaded the Band Board
to end the Band's parade appearances,
allowing it to become strictly a concert
band.
In 1972, I began using a computer-based
word processing system (of which I
had managed the development) to generate
personalized fundraising letters.
The Band hired
a commercial artist
to design a new
logo for the Concord
Band.
In 1976, I persuaded the Acton-Boxborough
unit of the Emerson Hospital
Auxiliary to sponsor an annual spring
Pops concert the night after Concord
Rotary's concert and to share expenses.
This sponsorship lasted about 40 years.
In 1985, I introduced Santa Claus to
the Holiday Pops Concerts. Bill Toland,
the Band's first Music Director, after
Pops that year, commented, "This guy is
the real thing." The same Santa has been
with us ever since.
I was Fundraising Chairman for most
of the period beginning 1970. Although I
continually met or exceeded targets and
mounted a substantial surplus as protection
against any future financial disaster, I
feel that I should have done much better.
This is a function that deserves considerable
improvement.
Having conceived of and introduced
Notes as a
replacement for the annual fundraising
letter, I eventually became its editor and
publisher, responsible for writing or
sourcing the page 2 article. I organized
and managed the processes for newsletter and fundraising mailings to a list of 3,000
three times a year (the third time is for a
summer schedule postcard). Later the
number of recipients was reduced to 1,800.
I conceived of
the
Lifetime Service
Award. First given
in 2002, thirteen have
been awarded to date.
I took on the responsibility
of producing
Concert CDs
to give them professional
quality documentation
and packaging.
I designed new percussion cabinets
and worked with Lexington's Minuteman
Regional High School carpentry shop
supervisor to have them produced by
students.
In 1995, at the end of Bill Toland's tenure, I wrote the Band's Mission
Statement in preparation for the search
for a new Music Director, and coined the Band
motto, "A Community Band with a Professional
Attitude".
During planning for the 50th Anniversary
season, I conceived of the idea of
making video recordings of Fall and
Winter Concerts as a major addition to the
Band archive. I brought in Concord-Carlisle
TV as the production company and
acted as Executive Producer and post-production
editor. I organized the Band to
get the Fall, 2008, Concert video onto as
many public access cable stations as
possible to promote the 50th Anniversary
concert in March, 2009. Beginning with
that first concert, each piece performed
has become part of the Concord Band
YouTube Channel, which now includes
more than 200 performance recordings.
In time for the 50th Anniversary
Concert, I proposed naming Bill McManus
Music Director Emeritus and Bill
Toland,
Music Director Laureate.
Suggested Future Directions
The next Concord
Band Fundraising Chairperson
should try to do much more with the job
than I did. In particular, grants beyond
those of the Massachusetts Cultural Council
should be investigated and, where appropriate,
pursued. In addition, fundraising
methods used by other symphonic
wind ensembles around the country
should be explored, and those that appear
to be most promising, tried.
One promising area is the involvement
of local school children. There are a few
potential advantages of such activity. In
addition to providing performance opportunities
for the kids, it makes them aware of
us in advance of potential membership later
in life. More immediately, it makes their
parents aware of the Band's concerts.
Finally, I want to encourage all those
who may serve on the Band Board of
Trustees in the future to continue to pursue
the Band's program of commissions,
setting aside funds every year and seeking
grants for major works. I would recommend
avoiding consortia as they make it
very difficult for any one participant to
influence the work to be created. I would
like to see the Band commission a work
for symphonic wind ensemble and mixed
chorus.
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. He is
president of the nonprofit, Dream Centers for the Performing Arts.
