Sun City Concert Band is celebrating its 20th anniversary this December with two performances of “A Musical Celebration – 20 Years of Favorites” in Drendel Hall at 7 p.m. December 7 and 1 p.m. December 9.
Dave Macaulay, a founding member of the Sun City Concert Band said, “The band got off to a slow start 20 years ago. We had only 11 in the band. Ten players and one conductor. With no music of our own, we borrowed from the high school. Slowly the band grew bigger and also grew in our ability to put on a performance that audiences loved.”
The current band still has three original members, Dave and Beth Macaulay and Esther Bell.
Macaulay said, “It took us a year to become a charter club. It was difficult to get members. Currently we have 45 members.”
Jerry McClellan, who plays percussion, said, “Most of the members of the band came back to play after not playing for 35-45 years. Some switched instruments.”
Nancy Morbeck, a clarinet player said, “I didn’t think I could play, but Rich Bell one of the founding members gave me the support and encouragement I needed.”
Donna Bressler, a member and former director of the band, plays the trombone and is a musician by trade. She stepped up to the challenge and became the second Director of the Band. “Playing music, I always had a family, and that continued throughout my life and here in Sun City,” she said.
Gary Krewer, cornet soloist, said, “It’s more than music. We come each Wednesday and it’s a family. We work hard, have fun, and play our music.”
Macaulay said, “In the early years of the band we frequently performed off campus. We played gigs in Chicago, Rolling Meadows, Bartlett, South Elgin, St. Charles, Marengo, and Crystal Lake, as well as at the Huntley Fall Fest in Dieke Park. Wherever we went we extolled the virtues of living in Sun City.”
Krewer said, “We reach outside to the community with Huntley Community Radio. We built a strong relationship with the Huntley Schools. We have performed jointly with the high school and we’ve given more than $25,000 for student scholarships.”
The Sun City Concert Band joined with 130 students for four public concerts from Heineman Middle School, Marlowe Middle School, and Huntley High School.
Morbeck said, “The festival was conceived as a way to engage the local community through music while presenting extra opportunities for students in grades 6 to 12.”
Members of the band have trouble picking out a favorite part of the performance.
Bressler said, “I get excited for all of them.”
Morbeck said, “We play selections we love and it’s hard to have a favorite.”
What titles can we expect in the upcoming concert?
McClellan said, “The concert tells the history of the club. Our seven-person committee looked over all the concerts individually and we picked up our favorites and those of the audiences. That’s what the program is” ‘The Best of the Best.’”
Bressler said, “If we played all our favorites, though, the performance would last four days.”
Tickets are $15 and are available by phone at 847-904-3088 and by email at SCCB.Huntley@gmail.com
