Sinclair Community College’s community wind symphony will join The Ohio Valley British Brass Band for a surround sound concert the weekend of Feb. 24.
The Community Bands were started in 1977 and feature woodwind, brass and percussion musicians from Sinclair and the greater Dayton area.
Music department Professor Kenneth Kohlenberg has been the director of the Community Bands since 1987, and will be conducting both concerts.
The Community Bands include students, music teachers and other musicians from the Dayton area.
Kohlenberg said approximately 20 Sinclair students play in the Community Concert Band, and there are about three students in the Wind Symphony Band.
“All the other [musicians] are members of the community from the Dayton area,” he said.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, Sinclair’s Community Wind Symphony will play the second half of the concert, Kohlenberg said. The Ohio Valley British Brass Band will play the first half.
The Ohio Valley British Brass Band plays and rehearses in the Dayton area but has members from all around the state, Kohlenberg said.
According to linkedin.com, The band has 42 members and performs “12-15 concerts per year featuring marches, overtures, light classics, jazz, popular, patriotic and show tunes.”
For the last number of the Sunday concert, Kohlenberg has something new planned.
The Ohio Valley British Brass Band is going to join the Community Wind Symphony on a piece called Symphony No. 1 by Russian composer Vasily Kalinnikov, Kohlenberg said. What makes this collaboration unique is that the members of the Ohio Valley British Brass Band will actually be spread out around the main floor of the Blair Theatre.
“That will total about 80 or 90 people all playing at once,” Kohlenberg said. “It will be ‘surround-sound.’ That will be a nice effect—we haven’t done that at Sinclair before.”
On Monday, the Concert Band will perform their winter concert which will feature solo flute player Judy Varner.
Varner has taught flute in the area and has played in the bands at Sinclair, Kohlenberg said. Varner will play Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 1, and the Community Concert Band will provide accompaniment.
The concert band will also play some overtures and some marches, including one by John Philip Sousa.
“A lot of people like that kind of music,” Kohlenberg said.
Both concerts are free and open to the public, and Kohlenberg encouraged students to attend if they are able.
“It’s a nice break from studying, especially the Monday night concert,” he said. “Since a lot of students are around anyway, if they just hang out a little longer the concert starts at 7:30.”
Sinclair will host the Community Bands Concert in Blair Hall Theatre in Building 2 on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m., and on Monday, Feb. 24. The Community Concert Band will perform in Blair Hall Theater at 7:30 p.m.