Chelmsford Community Band Kicks off Drive to Update Percussion Equipment

The Chelmsford Community Band has begun its 2015-16 season with a fundraising effort to update its long-neglected percussion instrumentation. “The percussion section has been working at a marked deficit in terms of equipment for a number of years,” says musical director Lucinda Ellert. “The timpani are in good shape, being fairly new, but the glockenspiel is in very poor shape and needs to be replaced. There is only one xylophone, and no marimba, vibes, or other mallet instruments. The tam-tam is in such bad shape that it’s almost beyond usability.” Percussionist Amy Thompson agrees with this assessment. “Our bells are what they give elementary school kids to take home and practice on. They were never meant to be used in performance.”

The first step toward addressing this deficit has just been made. A set of Adams Symphonic Chimes became available when they were surrendered by a school that was closing, and the price was impossible to resist. An instrument that is written for in nearly every genre of music, the chimes were the most egregious gap in the percussion equipment, and the players are thrilled with the new acquisition. “The sound is beautiful and everything you would expect for this instrument,” says Thompson. “Adding this sound to our percussion section has been on our Percussion Wish List for years.”

Although the the band was able to cover this purchase with available funds, a serious fundraising effort will be required to bring the rest of the instrumentation to the desired level. The band is a non-profit organization. This means that it relies on donations and community arts grants to buy music, pay for its rehearsal and performance space, pay its directors, and purchase equipment. One possibility being considered at this time for reducing the costs of this section-wide upgrade is to purchase a MalletKAT, which is a digital mallet instrument that can synthesize the sound of multiple mallet instruments. “But the MalletKAT has the same disadvantage as other digital instruments,” warns Ellert. “It can’t make authentic analog sounds that require long, controlled decay.” The digital instrument would therefore not be able to replace the glockenspiel or tam-tam, but it would allow the percussion section to cover a lot of additional instruments that would be prohibitively expensive to purchase separately.

A 60-piece ensemble of adult volunteers, the Chelmsford Community Band has brought live performances of concert band and jazz repertoire to the Chelmsford region for over 40 years. Find them on the web at chelmsfordband.org, where you can use a PayPal link to contribute to the percussion fundraiser. Follow them on Twitter (@ChelmsfordBand) or on Facebook. Their next concert, “Celestial Harmonies,” will celebrate the music of inner and outer space at the Chelmsford Senior Center on Sunday, November 8, at 2pm.