By Roberta Clayton
Last June, at the sixth annual Triangle Community Band Festival, held in Durham’s Central Park, five community bands entertained an appreciative crowd of music lovers, food truck aficionados, pet owners, neighbors, and stroller pushers. The bands presented a varied program of movie and show tunes, classical numbers, marches, and patriotic melodies. A wide pavilion gave the musicians some shade on a hot day, and after each group finished their presentation, there was food and ice cream for purchase.
Each band has their tee shirts and their own director. The groups are made up of interested local musicians who enjoy getting together to sharpen their skills and relive the fun of playing in school, at university, sometimes in the military, and not uncommonly, a career in teaching. Some people lend their skills to more than one band, swapping out one tee shirt for another as they take their place with the other group.
From the first note, it was (literally) an upbeat day, beginning with the Village Band from Chapel Hill, followed by the Holly Springs Community Band, which is also a draw for players from Apex and Fuquay-Varina. Third came the Cary Town Band, then the long-standing Raleigh Concert Band. And last of all, our hosts, the Durham Community Concert Band.
For the grand finale, all the conductors stepped up onto their stands and all the musicians together played the Washington Post March, written by John Philip Sousa. It took a lot of preparation to bring the percussion in a rented truck, set up folding music stands, place clothespins or clips to keep the music from blowing away, and drink bottles of water to stay hydrated in the heat. But it was worth it.
Four days later the Holly Springs Community Band (HSCB) played at Ting Park and stayed to watch a baseball game between the Holly Springs Salamanders and the Wilson Tobs. The musicians were charmed when Sal the Salamander took the baton from our director and led a lively march. He did a good job, too!
Origins in Southwest Wake
Our daughter, Elizabeth Leech, saw a flier in late 2004 announcing the start of a community band in Holly Springs. She showed up with her flute, but the only other person there was, in her words, “a pretty good clarinet player named Carl.” A few months later she got an email inviting her to the band, and there she met the director, Dave Reitmeyer, and six or eight other people. As the group grew, they worked at filling the parts they needed. They had been searching for someone who could read music to play the bell part, even if it was on a keyboard. “Well, I know someone who reads music,” said Elizabeth. That spring, she volunteered me—a classical pipe organist with what my mom called “educated feet,” who was always used to reading three staves at a time. Elizabeth told me I was needed “to hit things.” I learned that counting long rests is daunting.
Practices got underway in the spring of 2005. There were a couple of concerts at Womble Park in Holly Springs once the band shell was finished. For years, the band played as part of the Apex Nativity display on Bryan Drive. “There was no fee to join. We would wear a white shirt and dark pants.” Our son, Vaughn, came to Holly Springs in April of 2005 and played his euphonium with the band until he bought a home in Durham. When he moved again, this time to Fuquay-Varina, he rejoined the group.
In those early years, I would cart our Chinese gong to rehearsals. It was better than nothing, but only just! My husband, John, made a slap stick for me to use as a whip in a pirate song and in a sleigh ride piece. We had no clue it wasn’t supposed to be spring-loaded. A proper gong made a huge difference, when the band found the funds. I can recall a series of four directors, and the moment I fell in love with a single timpani, or kettle drum. The band had borrowed it for a patriotic song. My big solo was just one roll and one crash, but that’s all it took. Next time I rejoined the group, the band owned a set of three timpani, and I set about to learn how to tune and play them. I was hooked. Part of the benefit is stimulation of an aging brain.
It is not a total surprise to learn that one of the early organizers of the group was Jim Salmonson. He is featured in the May/June 2022 issue of Suburban Living magazine’s Holly Springs edition, supporting his son Payton and other young players of the Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble. He said this about the May 2005 concert:
“Just wanted to pass along a few words of encouragement from some of the audience that wasn’t affiliated with the group. Running around chasing a toddler allowed me to talk to a lot of people after the performance. ‘What a great addition to our town.’ ‘Holly Springs really is a growing community; I am glad to see the development of the arts.’ ‘I heard you guys from the parking lot…wow! I’m sorry I missed the performance up close.’ ‘We are supporting your efforts…we hope to see this group a permanent part of our town.’” (Presumably, the toddler referred to must have been Payton.)
Becoming a permanent part of town is just what happened in the years that followed. Many band members had not played their instruments in years, but found joy in rediscovering the excitement of performing. The organization became a 501(c)(3) non-profit with tax exempt status and support from donors. It became eligible for grants, and has been sponsored in part by the Town of Holly Springs.
From Near and Far
Director Mark Gloden makes band fun for all of us. We can tell he enjoys selecting our pieces and helping us pull together the performances. Many of us have white hair, and we vary greatly in our levels of experience and musicality. He has degrees in music from the Armed Forces School, Penn State, and Ithaca. He has taught at every level, and earned awards with his performance groups. He was a conductor with the Raleigh Concert Band for twenty years, interim conductor for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Village Band, and played in several other town bands, in pit orchestras, and with other jazz and big band groups. His wife, Kathy, is our bass clarinetist, and Mark plays saxophone or clarinet when he shares the baton with Anita Hynus. The Glodens live in Raleigh.
Associate director Anita Hynus nurtured her passion for music by earning two degrees at Marshall University. She has been an award-winning public-school music educator for 40 years, and currently plays French horn with a brass band and two community bands. We can tell she enjoys helping us improve our skills.
Rounding out our leadership is band president Debbie Dunn-Smoot, who plays alto saxophone and lives in unincorporated Wake County. She has filled her leadership role since 2017. When Debbie joined the band in 2016, she played the timpani until a spot opened up for her saxophone. “It’s a really nice community that we have supporting each other,” she says.
Apex
The Holly Springs Community Band draws players from many towns, near and far.
Natalie Fulwider, our oboist, wishes she had a band in Apex, but is well appreciated in our group. Dave Brook on bassoon, and associate director Anita Hynus both live in Apex as well.
Fuquay-Varina
Several of us drive up from Fuquay-Varina. Chuck Powell joined in 2022 on trombone, and also plays in several other bands. He says “I find tremendous joy and stress relief in playing trombone.” Lori Taguinot on French horn joined in 2009 in Holly Springs, but has since moved to Fuquay. Robert Cordle, on trumpet, lives in Fuquay, as do I, still playing the timpani.
Holly Springs
Renee Collins on clarinet joined very early on, and lives in Holly Springs. So do percussionist Jim Hewitt, Tom Cosse on baritone horn, Barb Kilpatrick on flute (joining in 2016), and Joanna Bissell-Havran, who has been playing clarinet with us for 11 years.
Elsewhere
This is just a sampling of more than 40 musicians who make their way to the Holly Springs Cultural Center from all over. M. Neil Smith from Cary plays trombone and bass trombone with us, and with several other groups. Gene Phares, on trumpet, comes from Angier. Husband and wife Zack and Katie Finkbiner live in Clayton, and both serve as percussionists. Katie is also a vocalist. John Edwards comes from Willow Spring with his alto saxophone, and Steven Shafer brings his baritone saxophone from Wake Forest.
See Us, Hear Us, Support Us
We are all volunteers. We have our fans and followers, and hope to add you as a friend also. There are always expenses involved, such as sheet music, transportation to events, registrations, and instrument repair and purchase. There are business sponsors and individual donors as well as opportunities to donate in support of a musician, a musical selection, or even an entire concert. We traditionally present a spring concert, a holiday performance, and a fall concert.
The band rehearses at the Holly Springs Cultural Center on Wednesday evenings and can accommodate new players as space becomes available when members move or get involved in other pursuits. Some performances are free, but a modest fee is charged for the concerts in order to pay for the facility.
Our spring concert this year is Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cultural Center. Tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students. (Visit hollyspringsband.org for a schedule of more upcoming events.)
We invite you, our neighbors and friends, to attend our concerts and share the fun.
At the concert, look carefully at the faces on stage. You may see someone who lives next door.
