Washington Municipal Band back for the summer

The Washington municipal band has returned 15 months after canceling activities due to COVID-19.

Band Director Tom McNamar said returning to the stage was like a breath of fresh air.

“Let me tell you, playing is so much better than not playing,” he said. “Everybody is trying to get back on the same page so we know what we’re doing, but the season is going very well.”

Though the band is active again and taking precautions like spreading out and not sharing music stands, McNamar said it wasn’t at full capacity thanks to lingering complications from the pandemic.

“You get used to doing something, and when all of a sudden you don’t do it, it’s hard to get people (back,)” McNamar said. “Also, about a quarter of our attendance is students from the high school and with so many of the students not being vaccinated, it makes it very difficult for them to interact with our experienced players.”

McNamar estimated the band size at 35-40 members, well below its average of 50-60 before the pandemic. Of those members, age ranges run anywhere from high school freshmen to senior musicians in their 80s.

With two concerts already finished, McNamar said the band has six more planned this summer, each featuring different pieces.

The band’s once-a-week practice schedule demands a swift turnaround time from its members, but McNamar said the challenge attracted the most talented musicians.

“It’s a pretty tight schedule and people really have to know what they’re doing in order to put on a high quality concert with only two hours rehearsal,” he said. “We put up 10 pieces, sight read them on a Monday, and then perform them days later on a Thursday. That is an incredible learning curve.”

McNamar said the raw talent drawn by the band was his reason to keep coming back to direct every year, as he has every summer since 1994.

“There’s a large group of very talented musicians that, really, a town of Washington’s size should not have,” he said. “The fact that we’ve had such a strong band and that Washington has had such a strong music program in the schools has really led to a lot of talented people in and around the city … It’s certainly a treat and a pleasure to conduct so many talented people.”