Lancaster Festival brass quintet entertains lunch crowd with jazz and classical pieces

LANCASTER —  While the Lancaster Festival’s national acts get much of the attention, they are not the only musical acts that perform each year.

Smaller acts play lunchtime concerts downtown and usually draw a good crowd. Such was the case Monday when the festival orchestra’s brass quintet performed. The quintet played tunes from Bobby Darren, Fats Waller, Leonard Cohen and more before ending the 60-minute set with “New York, New York.”

The festival is comprised of musicians from all over the country, including Wichita State University trumpet professor David Hunsicker.

“It was a very nice crowd,” he said of Monday's performance in near-perfect weather. “It was a lot of fun. It’s always a pleasure to be here in Lancaster playing.”

This year marks Hunsicker’s 17th season with the festival orchestra.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s a home away from home for me.”

MORE: Artists brighten up downtown sidewalks during Lancaster Festival

Some audience members were loving the quintet’s performance, including Jane Thimmes.

“It’s a beautiful day,” she said. “I always come down to these noon shows a lot during the festival. It’s a really nice break in the day. I like it.”

Thimmes said she likes most all music, so it doesn’t matter to her who is performing and she also enjoys other festival events.

“I’d like to go to everything, but that gets a little cost prohibitive sometimes,” she said. “But it’s a great addition to the community.”

Local resident Cheri Crist attends the festival's national concerts and tries to attend ArtWalk each year in conjunction with the festival.

"We did a quartet last night (Sunday) at our local church in Baltimore and it was wonderful," she said. "And here we are today."

McConnelsville native Bob Reed was sitting with Crist.

"I've just have become familiar (with the festival) in the last few years," he said. "I cannot say how impressed I with the Lancaster community to carry this on and to do it for as long as they have and to be as wonderful as it is. I have a whole new-found respect for Lancaster and Fairfield County. So yeah, I really enjoy it."

Festival executive director Deb Connell said the noon concerts are a chance for people to bring lunch or buy lunch from an onsite food vendor and experience acts like the quintet in a more intimate setting.

Your support helps keep the lights on at the Eagle Gazette. Stay connected with our daily stories, in-depth reporting and more by

clicking Subscribe

Visit Fairfield County for the first time set up an information booth for the Monday show. Executive Director Jonette Haberfield said the concerts are great for tourism.

"I just met a guy who came to pick up his grandson and didn't even know it was going on," she said. "He's from Pickerington, so they stopped by and they had lunch and they're getting ready to listen to the concert. They were here for the kids' show this morning."

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster Festival brass quintet entertains with jazz and more