The 2003 St. Marys Rotary Club "Concert in the Park" series continues on Sunday, August 3, with a special 2:00 PM matinee concert in the Performing Arts Center of Memorial High School, featuring The Cincinnati Brass Band. Please note that this concert has been moved into the air-conditioned comfort of the Performing Arts Center, “rain or shine,” unlike previously announced. They appear in the 2003 Concert in the Park Series in cooperation with the Salzgaber Music Fund of the Van Wert County Foundation.
The Cincinnati Brass Band was formed in 1993 to provide an opportunity for qualified adult musicians to experience playing traditional British brass band music. Their goal is to educate both young people and adults about the unique sound and repertoire of the brass band and to continually improve their musical skills. There are currently 35 members of the CBB, who along with their conductor, volunteer their time and efforts to spread the sound of a brass band to the general public.
The CBB has traditionally been active in performing at churches, universities, schools and concert series programs. They regularly perform at the Ashland (Kentucky) Brass Band Festival, the Ohio Music Educators Association convention, benefit concerts for Habitat for Humanity, and with Maestro Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra on the Riverbend and Music Hall concert series.
In May 2000, the band was featured in a concert for the unveiling of the refurbished historic Tyler-Davidson fountain on Fountain Square, Cincinnati. As recognition of their contributions to the Fine Arts in the Greater Cincinnati area, the CBB was honored in 1999 and 2001 at the Cincinnati Post - Corbett awards, which salutes excellence in the arts. The Cincinnati Brass Band was proclaimed as the "Official Brass Band of Cincinnati" by the Mayor of Cincinnati as further recognition of their contributions to the musical culture of Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Brass Band is a member of the North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) that sponsors an annual competition of the member bands from across the U.S. and Canada. The CBB entered their first NABBA competition in 1996 and have won first place in their competition section in five of the seven years in which they competed. As a commitment to their vision and the principles of NABBA, the CBB was selected to host the 2002 NABBA Championships in Cincinnati, and to perform at the prestigious Great American Brass Band Festival in Danville, KY, an honor reserved for the elite brass bands in North America.
Conductor, Anita Cocker Hunt is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She earned her Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Music in trumpet degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She returned to Cincinnati to serve as Divisional Music Director for the Salvation Army in Southwest Ohio and Northeast Kentucky before leaving in 1997 to go back to public education. Since returning to Cincinnati, she has earned her Master of Music degree in Instrumental Wind Conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She is presently a sales representative for Buddy Roger's Music. She has been the Cincinnati Brass Band's only conductor since its inception, and presently serves on the Board of Directors of both the band and the North American Brass Band Association.
An all brass band that plays traditional British Brass Band music and mixes other entertaining selections such as Disney and movie themes; who could ask for anything more? It's free! And it all sounds great with the traditional British Brass Band instrumentation. Come hear one of America's premier Brass Bands in concert right here in West Central Ohio!
The St. Marys Rotary Club has sponsored the "Concert in the Park" series for the citizens of St. Marys for the past eleven years. The final performance in the series will be this year’s kick-off to Summerfest 2003 when “Supper and Sounds in the Park” proudly presents “The Big Band Sound of AC Swing” on Thursday evening, August 7th at 7:00 PM in the Memorial Park Gazebo. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs, a picnic basket, and get ready to clap, hum, or sing-a-long with all of the performances this summer!
Thanks, Dane Newlove.
