Community Band Celebrates Fifteen Years

A hidden gem resides here in the town of Danville and you may not even know it. Like so many traditional little towns found across the Midwest, Danville has a community band – The Danville Community Band (DCB). This band is, in the traditional sense, a ‘real’ community band as it has a diverse membership that includes all ages, from teens to octogenarians, and bandsmen with a wide range of musical experience and ability. The band includes members with a range of work background from students to teachers, to doctors, professionals and retirees. What is special now is that this band, that you may not be familiar with, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary season.

The idea of leading a community band to Founding Director Dr. Lawrence E. Anderson was not new. Some of Dr. Anderson’s students (from his days as Director of Bands and the Cal Aggie Marching Band-Uh! at UC Davis) recall that he shared, more than once, that he had a future goal to start up a community band… someday. Perhaps this idea began as early as when he was a student himself at Cal and was Student Director of the California Marching Band. Never the less, after more than a year of planning and preparation by Dr. Anderson and his wife Jan, publicity went out seeking musicians for the newly created band. A June 2001 article in the San Ramon Valley Times shared Dr. Anderson’s hopes and goals for the band. “Anderson would like to have 40 to 60 musicians in his community concert band, but he would settle for 25.” This news article, flyers and word of mouth worked. On Thursday, September 20, 2001, fifty-eight musicians came together for the very first time as the Danville Community Band. The band performed its first concert the following December at Monte Vista High School. Since then the band has averaged five or more performances per year with regular appearances for the town Independence Day parade, Memorial Day observation, and other local events, dinner concerts, and performances in the Blackhawk Museums. In January 2009 Dr. Anderson stepped down as Conductor and Musical Director and passed the baton into the capable hands of Dr. Robert Calonico, also Director of Bands at U.C. Berkeley.

The band is still going strong. Its membership hovers around 85 musicians and rehearses weekly September through June at Community Presbyterian Church (with whom they are very grateful for the hosting). This season still has a few more opportunities for the community to enjoy their music. The band has sit-down performances at The Blackhawk Museums on Sunday, April 2 at 2pm, and at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek at 3pm on Saturday, June 10. The band also will appear at the Memorial Day Observance at Oakhill Park, and prior to the start of the Independence Day Parade. For more information about the band and its upcoming performances, please visit their website at www.danvilleband.org. Happy 15th Anniversary to your Danville Community Band!