Orcas Community Band Continues to Bring Holiday Cheer

— by Lin McNulty —

Sunday, December 16, 3 p.m., Orcas Center

On Sunday, December 16, 30 local musicians will pack up their instruments at home and head on over to Orcas Center where they will  unpack their instruments and bring holiday tunes once again to islanders. They have been doing this for over 30 years, much to our delight.

The Orcas Island Community Band began in 1978 when Gary Bennett could not conceive of a Fourth of July Parade without Sousa. (Previously the only music in the local parade was a bagpiper.) He decided to gather an informal group of musicians who would ride in the Eastsound parade once a year –known as the Free Form Riding Marine Band. This casual, once-a-year gathering of musicians became a “garage band” in 1990 with seven or eight musicians gathering in Marlin Brown’s garage in the Orcas Highlands/Eastsound for weekly music sessions. By 1994, the group had grown to ten musicians and they performed in the Historical Society’s July parades and were jokingly called the Orcas Island Hysterical Society’s Sedentary Band. After participating center stage in one of the Orcas Center’s early variety shows membership grew exponentially.

Throughout their history, the Orcas Island Community Band has striven to promote high-quality performance of traditional and contemporary band literature. The impact of their outreach program has been noted time and again as music lovers, especially students, have seen that their love of music can last a lifetime.

The Orcas Island Community Band is regarded as a friendly, social band dedicated to having fun and making music, and their holiday concerts do not disappoint. The band has been in rehearsal since September for this concert. They are fortunate to have a perfect mix of concert band instrumentation (some mainland bands don’t have oboes and bassoons).

Admission to the concert is by donation. And there is a free dessert party afterwards.