Mar. 17—The Austin Community band is about to begin rehearsals for its 2023 season.

The season will open with an exchange concert with the Albert Lea Community Band at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1 at Fountain Lake Park just north of downtown Albert Lea. Then they will come and play with Austin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7 at Bandshell Park.

"We are excited to share our music with the Austin community this June through July 4." said Tim Davis, who is in his second season as the director of the band. "We are continuing the exchange concert idea that we started last year. This year as our final selection, we will join both bands together to perform one piece as a combined band."

The next performance will be at the Fourth Avenue Fest at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14 at the Horace Austin Park next to the downtown pool. The festival is a celebration of the businesses downtown and along 4th Avenue.

The next performance for the band will be 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28 at the Bandshell. For this performance we will be featuring the Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble. This group is made up of two dozen of the finest trumpet players in the Metro area and are under the direction of James Olcott.

They will play along with the band on Leroy Anderson's Bugler's Holiday and will then take the stage and perform several trumpet ensemble pieces for the second half of the concert.

"We are excited to share the stage with these fine musicians from the Twin Cities," Davis said.

The season concludes with the Fourth of July Parade and then again in the evening from 8:30 to 10 p.m. They will be sharing a variety of music including patriotic music, movie themes, and of course, some favorite marches.

Mark your calendars to come out and hear the band this summer. Each concert will feature different music. Bring a chair or blanket and come enjoy some summertime music brought to you by the Austin Community Band.

Anyone who plays a band instrument is invited to play in the band. The Community Band is a non-auditioned group of players of all ages from the community. There are players that range in age from 16-80 years old.

Rehearsals begin on Tuesday, April 11 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Austin High School Band Room. You can contact the band at austincommband@gmail.com or like them on Facebook at Austin Community Band.