Municipal band completes 79th year

The Washington Municipal Band held its final concert of the year Thursday. The band finished its second year on the new bandstand and its 79

^th

overall. Band director Tom McNamar said the crowds were great this year, in part because the bandstand and Central Park in general are so attractive.

?We have averaged 200 to 250 people per concert,? McNamar said. ?We have a very loyal crowd base, and we love to see them all come out.?

McNamar said he was pleased with the weather this year. The band was rained out once, but other than that he said the year went very well.

?The worst week was the fair, and we took that week off,? McNamar said.             McNamar said Thursday night was a nice night, although the two prior weeks were warmer than he wished. The bandstand has a few sets of lights. McNamar waits until the performance is half over before turning on the bright lights. He said he does this because the lights generate so much heat on stage.

?Turning the lights on raises the temperature 10 to 20 degrees,? he said. ?If it?s 90 degrees off the stage, you can imagine what it feels like on the stage.?

The band ended its year with a show that featured many Broadway tunes. The band played selections from ?Beauty and the Beast,? ?Rent,? ?Titanic,? ?The Lion King? and ?Jekyll and Hyde.?

?We try to put on at least one Broadway tune per concert,? McNamar said. ?Not everyone is going to want to hear, as wonderful as they are, Sousa and King marches.?

McNamar said the municipal band?s concerts are a mix of a wide variety of music, from military marches to musicals to classical pieces.

?I put on the program whatever we can perform at a high level and the audience will enjoy,? he said.

The band performed pieces from the musical ?State Fair.? McNamar said he likes the band to play numbers that relate to current events. At the end of the concert, the band performed the national anthem and then ?Stars and Stripes Forever.? McNamar said this is one of drummer Wayne Brock?s favorite numbers and that the band plays it to honor him.

Trombonist Fred Stark has played in the band since 1973. He said ?Stars and Stripes Forever? is ?one of, if not the, finest marches ever written.?

?It?s always dramatic when you end a concert like that,? Stark said. ?For us, it was a very intense concert. It was a little longer than usual and there were not many breaks.?

Stark said it was a perfect evening for a concert.

?It was a beautiful night, maybe the nicest we?ve had all summer long,? he said. ?It was a picture of Washington at its finest. You?ve got the fountain going and the storefronts illuminated around the square. It is a great time to show the town to visitors.?

Gary McCurdy plays the tuba and has performed in the municipal band since 1965. His favorite piece last night was the tribute to Louis Armstrong. He and drummer David Johnson led the band at times during that piece.

?There were sections where he and I were really driving the band and making it sway,? McCurdy said. ?I thoroughly enjoyed that part of the concert.?

McCurdy conducted the municipal band at one time in the 1970s. He said he stepped down from the podium because he prefers playing his tuba over directing.

?Tom does a great job,? McCurdy said. ?I?m perfectly happy to sit back there and play and let him worry about all the rest.?