Feel the rhythm at Wheaton Band Festival
A canopy of stars above, a lush carpet of grass below and a band shell filled with musicians delivering classical gems, the sounds of swing and big band-style jazz: that's the Wheaton Band Festival.
Five musical ensembles will take the stage Friday and Saturday, July 17 and 18, for two nights of free entertainment in Memorial Park, 208 W. Union Ave.
A group of roughly 70 dedicated musicians - some professional, some amateur - make up the Fox Valley Concert Band, which will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday. Founded in 1983, the band has performed at the Wheaton Band Festival every year in the event's 16-year history.
"It's been a relatively long and successful relationship," said Colin Holman, the band's director since 1993. "We've carved out an identity for ourselves and I think that's why the band has been successful since its inception. The players do play for the love of playing."
Saturday's program will include eight pieces by the band, including Giuseppe Verdi's "Overture to La Forza del Destino," David Holsinger's "Havendance" and Gordon Langford's "Fantasy on Sea Songs."
Holman said the band members hail from about 20 communities in the Fox Valley and beyond. Musicians are attracted to the band, he said, because of its reputation and "because of the high level of artistic expectations and, at the same time, healthy social environment."
While all musicians are unpaid volunteers, getting into the band requires a certain skill level.
"All our members are auditioned, so we're looking for a particular standard," Holman said.
Holman is orchestra director at Loyola University Chicago. He also serves as music director of the Fox Valley Orchestra and the Chicago Brass Band, the band scheduled to open the Wheaton festival with a 7:15 p.m. Friday performance.
"I grew up in England," he said, adding that he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Birmingham. "I came to this country as a graduate student."
He went on to earn his Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Kansas.
He moved to Chicago in 1992.
"In 1993, I found that the (Fox Valley Concert) band was looking for a conductor," he said.
Holman said Glenn Arnold, a retired trumpet player with the Fox Valley Concert Band, was the driving force behind the founding of the Wheaton Band Festival, modeling it after a festival he attended in Danbury, Kentucky.
Holman said visitors are encouraged to bring deck chairs and snacks.
The festival's mission is to present music for music lovers by musicians who love to play a variety of musical styles.
"There's a fairly broad array," he said.
Following the Chicago Brass Band on Friday, The Nite Hawks are set to play at 8:15 p.m. Holman said the Glen Ellyn-based group plays pop, jazz and classic standards.
Saturday night's program takes listeners from the sounds of the Fox Valley Concert Band to a 7 p.m. performance of the Switch Time Jazz Ensemble, a big band jazz band. The evening will be capped by a performance by the Crystal Lake Community Band.