Bitterroot Community Band at Daly Mansion 8/8

I am MOST EXCITED about tomorrow’s performance.
It has several great things going for it.

Far and away my most favorite is the virtuoso bass trombone performance Chris Porter is putting on playing “Barnicle Bill The Sailor”.

By the time I turned 9 years old, I was convinced there was no finer sound than trombone. I could play nothing less. My opinion is little changed.

While I enjoy and appreciate the high notes, I love the middle and go a-ga-ga over the low ones. Chris hits them all and stacks them together in a way that place him in a very high league indeed. Knowing what I know of trombone, his sound and range are exceptional for any instrumentalist, let alone a master with the instrument of the gods.

Adding serious punch to the entire Bitterroot Community Band, our sister organization in Missoula is coming down to blend in with our musicians, filling in holes and weak spots with another solid group of musicians who play for the joy of playing. Joining two nice groups together into a serious big band will be exciting for those of us in the middle and should be great for those listening as well.

This is a one-time thing for our show at the Daly Mansion in Hamilton. While bigger and fuller is better, the smaller club that is our regular band is a fun group even with certain holes and weak spots. But with the complimentary co-joined Missoula City Band, we really ought to have a grand time.

I almost forgot, the Strawberry Shortcake

This is a fund raiser for the band. While none of us get paid to play, there are certain costs and we would rather not have to pay to play. We would like to think our community supports the noise we make. The bad news for those of you who don’t fully appreciate our music is that we will go ahead and make that noise even if we do have to pay more than our modest participation fee.

Which brings me to the third compelling feature… The Daly Mansion. Here is Bitterroot History for us all to appreciate. Regular ‘enactors’ will grace the mansion with turn of the century attire (that other century, mind you). It is a wonderful fit with a completely acoustical band using modern versions of instruments that were available in 1800 performing music that was composed much more recently than that.

This is a great, fun group of musicians including high school kids, retired folks and every age in between. We get together throughout the public school summer vacations and share the joy of making music. Our rehersals are in the Stevensville high school band room most Tuesday evenings. Every week or two, we also share the opportunity to listen in numerous venues around the Bitterroot Valley.

The band has a facebook page, for those who go there:
Bitterroot Community Band

Our remaining performance schedule is:
Thursday, August 8: Daly Mansion, Hamilton, 7:00pm
Tuesday, August 13: Hamilton Legion Park, 12-noon
Thursday, August 22: Hamilton Bandshell, 8:00pm
Saturday, August 31: Ravalli County Fair, 2:00pm
Sunday, September 29: Octoberfest @ Bitterroot Brewery, 4:00pm