Northwest Community Band

By Kathy Chruscielski
The Community News

A diverse group of more than 50 area musicians with various levels of experience and ability performed as the Northwest Community Band for the group’s inaugural concert on July 6.

The band, organized on June 1, is comprised of students and retirees, engineers and stay-at-home moms, music majors and band directors.

Instrumentalists come from north and west Fort Worth, Wise County and Parker County, including Aledo, Willow Park and Weatherford.

Conductor Ross Grant’s musical selections were definite crowd-pleasers at the free concert which was held at the Azle High School auditorium. Theme songs from the movies, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Jaws” were featured along with marches by John Phillip Sousa and an abbreviated version of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Dr. Grant, who has a Ph.D in Music Education-Conducting, taught at Texas Christian University for two years and directed a community band that met on the TCU campus.

“I saw how rewarding it can be for the participants and their community,” he said. “I have known that the west Fort Worth area needs such a group, and after three years (as Director at Azle High School) I felt that I could devote the time to get it started.”

Dr. Grant’s wife, Liz, also a band director, plays clarinet in the group.
Band member Jeanan Paul of Aledo repairs woodwind instruments at her Aledo music shop, but hasn’t played clarinet in a group since high school.

“Actually, bassoon is my main instrument, but I had sold mine to raise capital for the store, and so I’m back on clarinet,” she said.
Kelly Strobel, a church music librarian from Willow Park, joined the group after reading an article about it in The Community News. Kelly taught herself to play the clarinet again after a twenty year lapse in order to join Birchman Baptist Church’s orchestra six years ago.

“I had not looked at music or the clarinet since high school,” she added.
Mary Stennett, a Weatherford music teacher, has played flute since age 11.
"There has never been a time when I didn’t play; I was in band all through middle school and high school,” Sten-nett said. “I majored in music education in college. Since then I have been teaching elementary music with the occa-sional church performance, play at a friend’s wedding, etc.

“The community band is my first opportunity to play with a group since graduating college in 1998.”

“My goal is for everyone to enjoy what they’re doing – from the most advanced musicians to the most “rusty,” Grant said.

The Northwest Community Band practices Thursdays at 7:15 p.m. at Azle High School, 1200 Boyd Road. No audition is required to join the band.

For more information, send an e-mail to Dr. Grant at rossgrant@verizon.net, or see the Web site at www.northwestcommunityband.org.