Band starts again this autumn. 08/29/2011
Band has a start up date: September 26th. Start dusting off your instruments and we'll see you there! 2 Comments The Warman Community Band is hosting “A Strawberry Tea Spring Concert” this May, featuring live music by local musicians, beverages and dessert. Please join us in the basement of the Warman Gospel Church (420 Central Street West) on Sunday, May 30th at 2:30pm. Admission is only $4. This will wrap up our 2010/2011 season. Rehearsals will start again in autumn and are open to the public. For additional information on the Warman Community Band or how to join, contact Barrie Redford @ 242-2399, email barrietrumpet@netscape.com or my_fourleafclover@hotmail.com or visit http://warmanband.weebly.com  Some of our Winter/Spring 2011 Songs. 02/02/2011
I've been searching YouTube for videos of other bands playing some of the songs we've been looking at this year and have found a few. It's been a fun year so far and we're only a month into it! Meet The Flintstones It's a Small World Selections from Fiddler on the Roof Shepard's Hay The Water is Wide The Simpsons Viennese Sonatina (with harmonicas!) Mother Goose Suite Traces Yellow Bird ..... to name and find only a few!  Warman Community Band offers opportunity for musicians By Terry Pugh The Warman Community Band is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. For bandleader Barrie Redford, the time has really flown by. “It’s kind of hard to believe it’s been around for that long already,” he said in an interview October 27. “It doesn’t seem that long ago that we got things going.” The community band started in 2000 “as an offshoot” of the school band program, Redford recalled. “At that time, budget cuts forced the former Saskatchewan Valley School division to drop the band program. I was teaching in the school division at the time, and when the program was cancelled, I met with the parents of the students, and we decided to put together an adult band that would also include children. That was the beginning of the Warman Community Band.” Redford noted that in addition to being a band teacher, he was also a “band parent” and was concerned that his son might miss out on the opportunity to learn to play music in a band setting. “That was really what motivated me,” he said. “A bunch of us felt that we should put something together that would fill a need. It started small, but the idea caught on, and it continues to fill a need.” Initially, the band rehearsed in the “band portable” classroom at Warman Elementary school, but as student enrolment grew, the band relocated to the town fire hall and later to the high school. For the past five years, however, the group has found a rehearsal home in the basement of Warman Gospel Church on Central Avenue. It’s an arrangement that’s worked really well, according to Redford. “The church has been very accommodating,” he said. “They’re kind enough to allow us to have a storage room for our instruments and equipment. That’s a big help, because we used to have to haul a trailer load of percussion instruments and other equipment in and out every week for rehearsals. That’s really hard on the instruments, and it’s more wear and tear than you like to inflict on those sorts of things. So we really appreciate having a place like this.” The band rehearses every Monday evening from September to June, and plays anywhere from 3 to 5 major concerts over the course of the year. The biggest events are at Christmas, noted Redford. “We generally play a concert at the Warman Carol Festival in early December, and we also play smaller concerts at the Warman Mennonite Special Care Home and also at City Hospital. We also put on a concert toward the end of the season – usually in the late spring. We like to do concerts in a community setting and at community social functions.” The band is actually two bands in one, noted Redford. “Our instrumentation is primarily wind instruments and percussion, so in that sense we’re really a traditional concert band, and we do a lot of that music. But we’ve also started doing more and more jazz, to the point now where about half our rehearsals are devoted to that genre of music.” The gradual switch to jazz reflects the musical tastes of the majority of the musicians involved, he pointed out. “At one time, most of our players were a little older and they came out of the traditional concert band and marching band backgrounds, but now, I’d say most of the musicians are in their 30s, and they’re not tied to that tradition.” The instrumentation for the jazz band has expanded to include keyboards, noted Redford. “We’re hoping we’ll be incorporating some guitar instrumentation into the jazz numbers soon, he added. Redford, who continues to teach band in the Saskatoon Public School Division, says he believes music education is important, whether it’s offered in a community setting or a school setting. “Many years ago, all bands were community bands,” he explained. “And then gradually the schools became more of a focal point for not just music, but all sorts of community events and endeavours. The important thing is to offer people an opportunity to develop as musicians.” The band rehearsals offer musicians a very informal, fun atmosphere, said Redford, pointing out that new members are always welcome. “We’ve had a good response this year,” he said, noting that about half a dozen new people have joined the band since it commenced rehearsals earlier this fall. “A few years ago, our numbers had dropped quite a bit, and there was concern that we might not be able to keep it going, but it’s really taken off this year.” He noted the musicians range in age from 12 years to senior citizens. What draws them together is their love of music, and their enthusiasm for playing together. “There’s a tremendous camaraderie among the people in the group,” he said. “They all get along really well, and have a lot of fun at the rehearsals and the concerts. The friendships bridge the age gap, and there is a real sense of community within the group. I think the trademark of our group is the warm, friendly atmosphere. No one feels intimidated or pressured. I think that’s why I’ve been involved for so long, because it’s a lot of fun.” No rehearsal Thanksgiving Monday 10/04/2010
We won't be meeting for a practice on Thanksgiving Monday, October 11th, 2010. Have a great Canadian Thanksgiving, everyone... see you all on October 18th, 2010! New Logo! 08/11/2010
A new logo for a new decade of music! Rehearsals begin in September 2010! A New Concert for 2010 05/21/2010
This is from the press release: Warman Community Band announces free concert. For the first time in a few years, the Warman Community Band and friends will be holding a concert, free to the public. No charge – just come and enjoy an afternoon of performance and music by local musicians. Featuring 2010 Warman High School graduate Linley Redford on the trumpet, accompanied by Janet Wilson-Holmes. Sunday 6th, 2:30pm at the Warman Gospel Church – 418 Central Street. For additional information on the Warman Community Band or how to join, contact Barrie Redford @ 242-2399, email barrietrumpet@netscape.com or my_fourleafclover@hotmail.com or visit http://warmanband.weebly.com We want you! 09/26/2009
The Warman Community Band is actively looking for members. We are a casual, comfortable adult community band – although children are by no means bared from attending. In fact membership in the past has featured families, with parents and children all attending. Anyone with a couple years of playing experience is welcome to attend and check us out. Drop-in’s are welcome! And you don’t have to be from Warman to join – many of our members hail from the surrounding area. A common fear heard is that “I’m not good enough to play with a group.” If you can play at all – you are welcome to attend. We tackle songs for players of all abilities and encourage those who think they “aren’t good enough” to think otherwise. Many people have picked up their instruments again after years of dormancy and have realized that getting back on the bicycle isn’t that difficult at all… and it’s fun to boot. Another common fear heard from those who have attended other band practices, some of which in the city, is that they dropped out because they felt pressured or they felt the program was too serious. Ask any member of the Warman Community Band and they’ll confirm for you that our practices are quite the opposite; they’re casual, comfortable, silly and a lot of fun. Quite often rehearsal ends and we wonder where the time went. Once we couldn’t finish playing a selection from “The Sound of Music” as someone got the giggles and it spread. Song selection ranges from easy to challenging. From Latin to classical, movie soundtracks to folk songs. The range is wide and we try new songs out every week. There really is something for everyone. Come check us out. We play every Thursday evening at the Warman Gospel Church; 418 Central Ave from 7:30 to 9:30pm. We would love to see you and play with you WCB 2009 04/02/2009
This was us after playing the Twin Rivers Festival on March 30th, 2009! It's been ages since we had a group photo!  Doing well at The Twin Rivers Festival! 04/02/2009
We performed at the Twin Rivers Music Festival on March 30th and walked away with a mark of 87 for our two pieces: La Corrida de Toros (Richard W. Bowles) and The Old Vaudeville Band (Doug Hartzell). Hooray!  |
The Warman Community Band
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