By Stephen Smoot
Almost 30 years ago as Bill Clinton ran for his second term in office, yesterday’s kids couldn’t get enough of dancing the Macarena. When they were not waving their arms and moving their legs in sync to the song that bore the same name, many flocked to theaters over and over again to watch Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum fight off merciless alien invaders.
In that same year, the Shinnston Community Band formed and has regaled residents and visitors alike with its summertime sounds ever since.
“It started off as an alumni band for Shinnston High School, said Michael Cale, current director. He added that “Randall Hall put that together.”
The former alumni band met and played just often enough to give performers and audiences alike a taste for a lot more. “After a couple of times (playing) . . . they wanted to meet a lot more regularly.” Hall and others made the decision to assemble a band for the community, by the community, and of the community of Shinnston.
One of the keys to the success of the band lies in its continuity. Four have directed the band in the past 28 years, including the current leader of the band. Even more importantly, the band has always held its arms open to welcome to anyone who can play an instrument and wants to help to perform beautiful music both in Shinnston and around the region.
That includes kids of all ages. As Cale explained “most of the players are adults, but we do have some players who are middle school age,” around 13 and 14. He went on to say that “our oldest kid just turned 90!”
Performers come from all walks of life imaginable, from students to retirees, from doctors and lawyers to auto mechanics. Cake shared that “older players like helping out the younger players a lot.” Also, many return to play for the band after years of not having performed. Not everyone starts out hitting every note perfectly, but all members help each other out and back each other up.
Each season of play only ends up successful due to a huge helping of old fashioned hard work. “It takes quite a bit of preparation, especially if we are doing more than one performance,” Cale said. He went on to say that “all that preparation starts months, or even years, in advance.” Newcomers may join up to three or four weeks before the performance season commences.
Shinnston and Harrison County both have stepped up to help the band over the years. “Lincoln High School has been very generous” in sharing facilities “since its inception.” Cale thanked both the school and the Harrison County Board of Education for that vital help.
It also takes drivers and a professional crew to help the band travel to different venues and set up to perform a professional show. They work to prepare a stage for between 65 and 70 performers, with this year featuring more than most.
Those performers come from all over the region as well. Although most hail from Shinnston and Harrison County, many others come from Marion and Monongahela. Some travel from as far away as Buckhannon, Preston, and even Tucker counties.
With the band bringing scores of performers to events, as well as the audience and friends and family, Cale says that the band provides “a pretty big boon to the economy.” Each performance brings countless people to town to eat, shop, buy gas, or even stay in local bed and breakfast establishments.
The band also serves as a major part of the growing arts and music scene that features a number of acts playing a variety of kinds of music. The arts friendly environment has even attracted a Shakespearean troupe putting on annual plays at the Fergusson Park amphitheater that also often shows the Shinnston Community Band.
The essential part, however, remains “community.” Cale explained that “there aren’t a lot of small towns that have something like this.” Even those that feature something similar rarely have such an inclusive policy on bringing in new performers.
As Cale says “if you want to play, we’ll find a place for you.”