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(Updated November 21, 2024)
East Coast Band Conference 2025
The thirteenth East Coast Band Conference will again be hosted by the Ringgold Band in Reading, PA. The date is Saturday, March 22, 2025.
The conference, dedicated to band history and repertoire, will consist of 30-minute talks from 9 a.m. until noon and an open rehearsal of rare band works from 2 to 4 p.m. Both events will take place in the Ringgold band’s rehearsal room at 3539-A Freemont St., Laureldale, PA 19605. The rehearsal room is a veritable museum of Ringgold Band history and by extension Reading band history. There is ample free parking at the site.
Members of the Ringgold Band, directed by Chuck Ebersole, will form the core of players at the rehearsal. You are encouraged to bring your instrument and augment the band. If you choose to do so, please write to Chuck Ebersole at 147 Walnut St., Mohnton, PA 19540 or email him at chucksfz@gmail.com and let him know.
If you wish to have a rare band work performed at the rehearsal, please inform Mr. Ebersole and then send him a xeroxed copy of the score and parts well in advance of the conference so the band can rehearse it beforehand. If you wish to conduct the work yourself, let him know.
The conference is free of charge and there is no formal registration. In order to estimate the attendance, however, please notify me at hcrissey45@gmail.com of your intent to attend. I hope to see you there.
Here is the list of the 30-minute presentations in the morning:
1) Jim Shufelt -The Carlisle, PA Band
2) William Rehrig – Out of Hiding: Music That Has Been Accumulating
Dust for Far Too Long
3) Timothy Kaiser – “Good Music at the Disposal of Everyone”: Inside
the Frank Simon Archive
4) Jon Mitchell – Juan Morel Campos and the Ponce, Puerto Rico Municipal Band
5) Dave Detwhiler – Sousaphone Milestones in Sousa’s Incredible Band
6) Jari Villanueva – A History of Taps (with reference to bands)
3/15/25
Middle School Music Grant Opportunity
The Peter R. Marsh Foundation’s $1250 Middle School Music Grant is available between July 1st and January 31st annually. The purpose of the Grant is to provide a remarkable venue and experience for students where their emotional senses are awakened, and they are inspired to advance musically, scholastically, and socially. Grants are available to public middle school music teachers in the United States for the acquisition of in-school music classroom equipment and supplies, with additional funding available for student transportation to senior facilities.
The Grantee and their middle school music students are to provide three musical performances at senior facilities in their local or nearby communities during the school year. Each engagement is to include a post-performance student/senior visitation period.
See the Foundation’s website https://www.prmfoundation.org/ for complete Guidelines, Conditions, and Reviews from past participants. Additional teacher comments may be found on the Foundation’s Facebook page.
1/31/25