A view from the band

A Thursday night during summer in Washington sounds like the Washington Municipal Band. The group gathers on stage around 7 p.m. every Thursday night and begins putting their instruments together, setting out their sheet music and trying out some notes before the concert begins at 8 p.m.

By 7:50 p.m., everyone has arrived and is sitting in their metal folding chairs wearing their respective uniforms: white shirts tucked into black pants, black shoes planted on the floor, instrument cases, water bottles and the occasional bottle of slide grease or an extra box of reeds close by. Their conductor, Tom McNamar, steps up onto a platform, looking out over the band, both arms raised, with a baton in one hand.

He requests a B-flat tuning note and scale from the band, nodding when they complete it.

'There it is, that'll work,” he says.

After he climbs down from the platform, he walks around to each individual in the band, asking for a tuning note from them. He looks down at the tuner in his hand, giving them directions, usually noting they are playing a tad sharp.

'We're going to start with God Bless America tonight. Thought we'd switch it up a little bit,” he jokes, as he walks back to his stand to arrange his music in the order of the songs. Other members of the band take his cue and rearrange their music, putting up sheets of plexiglass or adjusting clothespins on their stands to prevent the music from blowing away.

At 7:58 p.m. McNamar makes one more announcement.

'Do not groan. I'm going to turn on the lights,” he says.

The band inevitably does and suddenly the bandstand feels 10 degrees warmer as the brights settle over the band. McNamar walks back up to the podium, climbs up, raises his arms once again and looks around to make sure all eyes are trained on him. Once he's sure, the band collectively takes a deep breath, McNamar rocks up on his toes, then falls back on his heels, his arms coming down as well as he begins to conduct the first piece.

He glances around the band, listening for consistency and tone, but also watching to see if anyone is lost or feeling unwell due to the humidity. There's a band in his head, he says, and he is trying to make sure the one in front of him sounds just like the one he is imagining.

'Good evening, all you beautiful people,” he greets the audience after. He lets them know the theme for tonight is a mystery for them to figure out, before he walks back to the podium, raising his arms, eyes scanning the band to make sure everyone is ready.

'Good luck. Meet you close to the end,” he tells them, before nodding his head and flicking his wrist to cue the beginning of the next piece. Sitting front and center, is oboe player Terra Richardson. She sits up straight in her chair, shoulders squared and foot tapping consistently as her eyes quickly bounce back and forth from looking at her music to looking at the conductor. A few seats down from her is Martha Chalupa, a flute player, and behind her Tristan Novy, a baritone saxophone player.

He taps his foot and counts the beats aloud as the band plays around him, swaying to the music when it is his time to play, feeling the beat and rhythm.

Their third song of the night, the theme from Mission Impossible, is a favorite of bass clarinet player, Ron Brock. He has been a member of the band for 11 years and just enjoys the opportunity to play, a hobby he has kept up for more than 40 years.

He keeps his eyes trained on the music, occasionally glancing up at the conductor, barely stopping for air as he focuses on the bass line of the piece. Behind him, the horn section can be heard, and among them is Walter Conlon, of Muscatine, who learned to play the French horn out of necessity.

A trumpet player by trade, Conlon learned the band needed more horns, so he picked it up and gave it a try. He's been coming back every year for 10 years for one simple reason: 'Because I love to play.”

Standing behind the band, holding the rest together is the percussion section. Virginia Bordwell, a piano player, plays a variety of instruments for the muni band. To her, being able to be part of something that is open to all ages is not only unique, but incredibly special.

'It's a social outlet where people of all ages can have fun together,” she said. 'Not many generations get to do that.”