'Music connects people': Bandos delight in the camaraderie of community bands

Bando: A person who loves to play in concert bands and marching bands. Also known as a band geek.

It's important to understand this definition when talking about community bands. These musicians revel in playing marches, show tunes, goofy novelty numbers, patriotic songs and also challenging classical type music.

And they play just for the fun of it.

(Full disclosure: I am a bando and a member of the Lansing Concert Band.)

Bandos from across Michigan will descend on Okemos High School on Saturday for the Red Cedar Festival of Community Bands. In its 26th year, 11 community bands will perform between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

Festival-goers will see bands filled with a few high school kids and every age group forward, with the oldest being 95. And they all love being together and playing music. The bands number 50-70 musicians each.

Four of the community bands are from Greater Lansing: Grand Ledge Community Band, DeWitt Community Band, Lansing Concert Band and the Meridian Community Band. Some local bandos play in multiple bands.

Bob Copeland is a member of the Meridian Community Band and co-founder of the Red Cedar Festival.

He moved to Lansing at age 39 and read an article in the LSJ about community bands. “I loved playing clarinet in high school, but I didn’t realize that people played musical instruments later in life.”

Copeland, who worked at General Motors for 47 years, said he was intimidated when he joined the Meridian band.  “I found the band to have a lot of camaraderie and people were friendly and open.  I immediately wondered why I hadn’t joined 22 years earlier.”

Copeland says the Meridian band has a 13-year-old percussionist, and he remembers when his daughter joined the band as a sixth grader.

“It was great seeing her develop relationships with older people," Copeland said. "Also, I think that people can be affected by music on the emotional level. It can be therapeutic.”

Steve Beck’s experience was a bit different.

“I had a midlife crisis," he said. "Work was frustrating and I needed something different. I joined the DeWitt Band and it was a real release for me.

“People come home from work and relax in various ways.  I found playing my trombone in a band was a great activity or hobby. There wasn’t confrontation and people in the band had a common goal. It has been a real pleasure for me.”

Beck was first trombone in the Lansing Sexton High School band and now he plays in both the Lansing Concert Band and Meridian Community Band.  He serves on the board of directors for both.

At the beginning, playing in an adult band was difficult for Beck.

“I wanted a challenge and I got it," he said. "I had to learn my instrument all over again. I got private lessons over the internet.

“I find rehearsals invigorating. You really have to concentrate. You can’t dwell on other things in your life. You have to focus on the music. If you really want to contribute as a musician you have to be disciplined.”

There are many reasons why people join a band - to be social, make friends, have fun -  but Carolyn Sherrill, who conducted the Meridian Band for 25 years and now plays clarinet in the Lansing band, thinks playing music is the main driver.

“People join for the fulfillment they receive in making music," she said. "You can achieve amazing results and have those magical moments when perfecting a beautiful piece of music.

“When you practice at home by yourself, it is not the same," Sherrill said. "When you sit in a band and hear the harmonies and the arrangements and get to know the people around you, it’s almost a spiritual experience. Nonverbal communication. It’s hard to describe.”

Along with Copeland, Sherrill founded the Red Cedar Festival. She says, “Michigan has so many more bands than other states. We inaugurated the festival during a time when all of them began to flourish in the 1990s."

Sherrill thinks it’s fascinating to see all the different bands come to perform in one place.

“Some bands are open to everyone and some are audition only," she said. "Some have colorful costumes and some do skits on the stage.”

In addition to performing short concerts, each band is adjudicated by a college band director and there are master classes. “Those comments from the judges meant a lot to me as a conductor. Over the years, the participating bands have improved in quality, due to being evaluated on their performance. “

The variety of musicians is vast. Some hold graduate degrees from prestigious music schools and others stopped at high school.

”It’s fascinating to see some musicians who are not very good, but being in the band is still very important for them,” Sherrill said.

Sam McIlhagga has a Ph.D in music and conducts the Lansing Concert Band. When asked why people join the band, McIlhagga said, “I think that there is a part of people they want to continue the experience they had in school – positive, support, family-like.

“Some people are better players than others, but everybody comes with the same desire for excellence. It brings people together. It’s not a competitive thing. People are supportive of one another, young and old. It’s not about age or gender, it’s just about the music.”

McIlhagga spoke about a teacher he had in graduate school who pointed out that high school athletes have to hang up their cleats or hockey skates later in life.  But musicians can play as long they can physically pick up their instrument.

Maybe the ultimate example of a bando is Christine Trudeau.  She plays alto sax, tenor sax and baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet and contra bass clarinet.

“I play in the Lansing Concert Band, Meridian Community Band, DeWitt Community Band, New Horizon Jazz Band, Senior Class Band and the New Horizon Summer Concert Band," she said. "I play in so many groups because it’s fun. It’s an escape and it’s a stress reliever.

“No matter what kind of day I’m having, going to rehearsal allows me to forget everything and focus on something fun. I love that magic feeling that’s indescribable when the band is totally on. You get chills while you’re playing because everyone is totally in sync.”

Kelly Sandula Gruner, French horn player with the Lansing Concert Band, says, “I’ve never liked the word hobby. Band has been a way of life for me since age 11.”

She met her husband studying music at Central Michigan University and now they have two sons, both bandos, with one in the percussion in the LCB.

Playing in a community band is a family affair for many. Copeland and daughter Adrienne played together in the Meridian Band for many years; there are married couples in all the bands; and Sue Topping, 67-year-old euphonium player, enjoys looking over her shoulder to see her 95-year-old mother, Laura, playing the tuba.

Nicole Lappela conducts the 35-piece DeWitt Community Band.

“Many bands have a social mission." she said. "We play in retirement centers – we bring music to those who cannot play any longer, and they love it. Music connects people.”

There are about 100 community bands in Michigan, and 58 are on the Red Cedar Festival mailing list. For Saturday’s event there will be about 600 bandos on stage throughout the day, having fun, enjoying each other’s company, and making the best music that they possibly can.

In memory of Adrienne

Adrienne Grunow, a Meridian Community Band member along with her father, Bob Copeland, died in 2020 at age 42. In her memory, the band commissioned a three-movement composition, "Adrienne's Bliss," which will be premiered at the Red Cedar Festival on Saturday, with a saxophone draped on an empty chair in front of the band. It was composed by Joe Spaniola. John Madden, previous band director, will be conducting.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Red Cedar Festival of Community Bands is March 4 at Okemos High School