Community band looking for musicians

BELLA VISTA — One of Bella Vista’s favorite volunteer groups is gearing up for a new season, and even though its membership numbers remain strong, there’s always room for more, according to the Bella Vista Community Concert Band.

Not only is there room for more musicians, there are also free instruments available for them, according to publicity officer Shari Ogburn.

“Now the band owns two tubas, two French horns, two baritones, a tenor sax, an oboe, a bassoon, a clarinet, and a coronet,” Ogburn said via email. There are no auditions. Interested musicians just need to show up at practice with or without their instrument.

The first rehearsal of the 2022 season, the 38th for the band, will be at 6: 30 p. m. May 2 at the Bella Vista Community Church. Rehearsals continue each Monday.

The first concert of the season will be May 17. Concerts are at Blowing Springs Park and are free.

The band helped fund the large stage at Blowing Springs and has been playing there for several years, including special holiday concerts in the summer.

Many members of the Community Band have retired from a career in music, Don Dragland said. He and his wife, Rosalie, have been members for 20 years. When they attended their first free concert, after moving to Bella Vista, they couldn’t believe how much fun the members were having. They joined the band immediately, within just a few days of moving in. It had been 30 years since either of them had played in a band.

The last concert in 2019 was memorable, Dragland said. They had no way of knowing how covid would impact the next season, but there were 61 members in the band that night, he said. The sound was tremendous.

New members who haven’t played since their school days often doubt that it will all come back to them, but it does, Ogburn said. She’s seen it over and over again. They are usually playing well in only a few weeks, she said.

“It brings back all the experience of high school and college,” she said.

There are also a few very young members, Ogburn said. She points out that high school students can get additional band experience by playing with the Community Band all summer. Not only do they get experience; they may also get a scholarship. The band provides scholarships most years.

“This experience will benefit them in not only improving their skills but will benefit them applying to play in college,” she said.

“The kids are a lot of fun,” Don Hall said.

For Ogburn, the weekly rehearsals are the best part of her week. For two hours, she doesn’t think about anything but music.