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The Olney Central College Concert Band has been invited to audition for the Percy Grainger Wind Band Festival in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago.
OCC Director of Bands Wade Baker is compiling submission materials which include video from last month’s Fall Concert and audio from the concert and community bands’ combined performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2019. He expects to learn next month if OCC will be among the four bands selected to participate in the March 24-25 event.
“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Baker said. “To be able to perform this level of music on that stage would be beneficial to the future of the program. It’s a chance for students in this area to experience cultural things they haven’t been exposed to before and to give them a better perspective of the world outside the walls of Richland County.”
If chosen, the ensemble will have a private clinic with Dr. Mallory Thompson, Director of Bands, Professor of Music and coordinator of the conducting program at Northwestern University. As a student, Baker had a chance to work with Thompson and he hopes the same opportunity is afforded to his students.
“If in the span of five years we can perform in two of the biggest concert halls in the world — that’s not bad for a community college located in the middle of a cornfield,” Baker added.
Baker said the band is in a rebuilding phase due to COVID-19. During the pandemic, many current students were unable to perform or make music together for more than a year.
Baker said the students have made considerable progress over the fall semester and are ready to tackle the challenging 27-minute performance of Grainger’s music.
“The Fall Concert was really good and it’s great to have that again,” Baker said. “It was a new experience for some to get in front of people or to perform in front of that many people. The progress they have made from day one to now is pretty extreme.”
The Music Department will again offer Community Band during the spring semester. Rehearsals will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, beginning January 10. Baker said participants will have the opportunity to join the Concert Band in Chicago if OCC is selected.
As the department continues to move forward, Baker said monetary and instrument donations are always welcome.
“I am in my sixth year here and we are still procuring the basic necessities for a band department,” he added. “We appreciate the community support.”
