Band Festival
Saturday, May 1
Silverton High School
Schedule of Concerts:
10 a.m. Marion County Citizens Band
10:50 a.m Keizer Community Band
11:15 a.m. – 1 p.m Lunch
1:15 p.m. Beaverton Community Band
2:10 p.m. Clackamas Community Band
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Final combined concert
By Jan Jackson
Music will fill the air Saturday, May 1, as the Marion County Citizens Band hosts the first Mid-Willamette Valley Community Band Festival at Silverton High School, 1456 Pine St.
Joining the Marion County Citizens Band will be adult community bands from Keizer, Clackamas and Beaverton. The free concerts run 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and are open to the public.
“These bands are made of great groups of musicians who delight in playing in community bands,” said Dale Sroufe, director of the Marion County Citizens Band. “In the Marion County Citizens Band we have members ranging in age from their teens to their ’80s, who come from as far away as Forest Grove, Beaverton, Canby and Charbonneau. We don’t audition our members, but we do play some very serious, challenging and enjoyable music. We’ve participated in other community band festivals in the past but this is the first time we are sponsoring our own. We are really excited about it!”
The Marion County Citizens Band formed in 1954 when cornet player Olfan DeGuire organized a group of about 30 musicians to play at the Silverton Centennial celebration. The name was chosen because members were “citizens” of many of the surrounding towns including Mount Angel, Silverton, Woodburn and Salem.
The following year, Charles W. Yuki, who was a prominent Southern California musician and had moved to Salem, became the bandleader. Subsequent directors were Edwin Eyman of Canby, Glen Slentz of Scotts Mills and Jay Steel and Paul Clute of Silverton.
The current group of 35 to 40 people includes musicians like percussionist Gisela Murtha, who works as a court clerk for the city of Mount Angel.
“I think I’ve been in the band for 16 or 17 years now and I love it,” Murtha said. “Besides being in it for the music, I just love being together with my fellow band members providing pleasure for other people. Dale Sroufe has done a great job putting this festival together and we are all really excited about it.”
Since the 1950s the Marion County Citizens Band has performed standard band marches, waltzes, polkas, German dance music, folk tunes as well as musicals and Christmas music at numerous events and venues including Mount Angel Oktoberfest, St. Paul 4th of July parade, Mount Angel 4th of July fireworks, Hubbard Hopfest, Cooley’s Iris Garden, Benedictine Nursing Center and Mount Angel Towers.
