Southwest Community Concert Band Celebrates 40 Years

ORLAND PARK, IL — This year, the Southwest Community Concert Band (SWCCB) proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary of bringing musicians and music fans together for the love of music.

The band, based in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, will celebrate by performing its 40th Anniversary Concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at United Methodist Church of New Lenox. Admission is free, and all are welcome to join this celebration. Concertgoers will be treated to highlights from the band’s performances over the years, including marches, big band selections and the debut of a piece specifically commissioned for the occasion by world-renowned composer Robert Sheldon.

The band is a nonprofit organization that welcomes brass, woodwind and percussion musicians ages 16 and older who have previous experience in a high school or college band.

SWCCB’s approximately 65 members come from all professions, walks of life and villages around the southwest suburbs to rehearse together weekly and perform multiple indoor and outdoor concerts throughout the year.

SWCCB prides itself on community outreach. It regularly partners with community organizations like the Orland Township Food Pantry, Cantigny Park, and local senior services and living centers to combine music with missions that give back to others.

The band also provides immersive music education to local sixth- through eighth-grade students through its annual Winter Band Day and Summer Band Camp. The educational events, which have attracted nearly 3,000 students since their inception, were founded by the band’s award-winning conductor Ray Forlenza.

Since 2001, Forlenza has led the band through changes, expansions, triumphs and challenges, including those brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. This 40th anniversary concert season is also the band’s first full concert season back as the region and world continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Forlenza holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from VanderCook College of Music and served as band director of Kirby School District 140 in Tinley Park for 32 years until his retirement in 2018. He continues to maintain an active presence in the music community, and he selected Robert Sheldon to compose SWCCB’s 40th anniversary song, “Freefall,” to bring joy to the band’s musicians and audience members.

“He’s always been one of my favorite band composers,” Forlenza said of Sheldon. “His compositions, from junior high to advanced levels, are always rich in melody and harmony.”

Forlenza has ties to the band’s founding members and carries their passion for music and community through his current leadership. The band was formed by Milt Potter, former band director at Carl Sandburg High School, in 1982, after he asked students and friends to join the group. In 1984, Neil Dunlap, legendary jazz trumpeter and conductor from Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, took over as conductor, and he was followed by Leo Henning in 1988. Henning was band director at St. Laurence, Brother Rice and Leo high schools and professionally conducted bands for celebrities Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr., Jimmy Durante and Vikki Carr, among others. Forlenza was one of Henning’s students.

Today, Alsip resident Therese Sundberg is the band’s longest-term member. She plays French horn, joined the band its founding year and has served on the band’s board since its inception.

“Music has been a huge part of my life beginning at 7 years old at a local music studio, attending VanderCook College of Music and spending several years teaching private music lessons to kids,” Sundberg said. “It has been an honor being an active band and board member of SWCCB for the last 40 years.”

As SWCCB members look forward to performing the 40th Anniversary Concert, the band is also looking for a new rehearsal facility in the southwest suburbs for 2023. Anyone who may have recommendations on rehearsal space for the band is encouraged to contact SWCCB President Jim Valtman at info@swcommunityband.com.

To learn more about the SWCCB, visit www.swcommunityband.com.