We have tried to make it to the 8:00 pm Tuesday night Corvallis Community Band's concert in Central Park for a couple of weeks now, but our tired guy has foiled our plans each week! Two weeks ago he literally curled up on the floor after dinner and put himself to sleep, and the week after that he was so grumpy we just knew it wouldn't work. This week I got smart and wore him out to the point of not being able to resist a nap in the afternoon (hurray! I've sure missed those days). So off we went.
Many towns have a concert series in the summer, bringing in local or somewhat lesser famous bands to put on a show on a summer night. Here, it's a little different. This is a community band, open to any member of the community with a high school playing level. Each week has a different theme: Marches, Marches, Marches and For the Kids were the two we'd already missed. This week they were playing selections from Oklahoma! as well as some Irling Berlin favorites. In addition, International Scottish Fiddling champion, Rebecca Lomnicky, would be playing her fiddle.
When we first got here (at scarcely 5 minutes before showtime!) we didn't realize that everyone else had most likely arrived at 7:00 to watch rehearsal, and chairs weren't just optional - they were standard fare! It didn't take long for us to shift over to a better viewing spot to the trees over to the left.
Rehearsal is an hour before performance time, and I suspect much of the audience shows up at 7 and revels in two performances. There must have been a couple hundred in the crowd, huddled in sweatshirts and under blankets on their lawn chairs on this cool evening. And the band! There had to be about 60 members in it, ages ranging from high school to senior. What a great opportunity for those with a love for playing an instrument but (usually) no forum in which to play if you do not elect to play professionally.
Hard to tell in the picture, but the band is playing behind Joshua here. The train runs by Central Park and one had just blown its whistle. Joshua was so intent on not missing the train, or any others after it, that he spent the entire concert facing away from it. :)
UPDATE: During Pauline and Bob's visit the following week we returned for another Corvallis Community Band performance. This time we brought our freshly picked blueberries to snack on and actually ran into someone we knew! Well, barely - but as newcomers to the area, we were still ecstatic to see a familiar face! Leif, Joshua and I all go to the library's Bedtime Storytime on Monday nights, put on by a group of volunteer former teachers and librarians, and Leif spotted one of the recent storytellers sitting nearby! Joshua and I wandered over to say hello to this tiny, sprightly woman of about 75 and her face lit up to see one of the children from her brief storytime visit. Then we sat back and were treated to "classical night" by the band, including a guest vocalist singing a medley of favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber songs: “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from “Jesus Christ Superstar”; “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from “Evita”; “Memory” from “Cats”; and “Phantom of the Opera.” We munched our blueberries and marveled at the not-too-cool evening (very unlike the week prior!). The CCB is definitely a treasure in this town, and deservedly well-loved.
Photo of Mimi and Bob taken by Joshua
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