And the band plays on
City's American band has been playing since 1878
By GARY DUTTON, Contributing Writer
Saturday, September 13, 2008 8:48 AM
CLAREMONT -- The city hall clock tower sounded its 8 p.m. chime and the music began.
Ed Evensen looked over his shoulder at the clock, raised his hands to the 25 musicians seated before him, and Claremont's oldest cultural tradition sprang to life again, filling Broad Street Park with music for the 131st consecutive summer.
The first of eight scheduled summer concerts by the Claremont American Band went off without a hitch. The rain that had been forecast left the city a couple of hours before Evensen struck up the band, and a colorful sunset seemed a perfect complement to the 17-song performance.
It was the beginning of the band leader's 47th season performing in the park, the majority of the past four decades spent as its director and, of course, its first clarinetist, an instrument Evensen long ago learned while a middle schooler growing up in West Claremont.
There are still talented teens who lend their musical skills to the band's flawless sound, and there are those who began as youthful musicians and never stopped coming back, those who, like Evensen, wouldn't think of not returning to the summer-only ensemble every year.
City natives Stan Marro, on trombone, and Jeff Johnson, on drums, have performed with the band for more than 30 years and, their Thursday night conductor is quick to tell you with a twinkle in his eye, long ago honed their craft as students of Evensen's at Claremont Junior High.
Wife Anne has been the troupe's first trumpet for more than four decades, a role she took over from Evensen's mother. And then there is Richard "Al" Gader, former Stevens High band director, and Don Laplante, Windsor High's former director, now the superintendent of the Hartford, Vt., school district, both who travel from out of town to rehearse on Tuesday and to perform Thursday night.
Open to all, the Claremont American Band, has long had a multi-generational roster. Its director joined as only a sixth-grader-a year earlier than its high-school-student-minimum requirement. This year's band boasts the membership of nine high school students, one a middle school grad just a few weeks past.
But they all, young and old alike, play with passion, Evensen notes with pride, a fact most obvious as they masterfully soared through their 17-song season-opening set July 3 in Broad Street Park.
Preceded in 1872 by a cornet band that occupied the old bandstand then located at the northern end of the city park, the Claremont American Band has never missed a summer since its formation in 1878.
John Philip Sousa guest-conducted on several occasions in the early 20th century -- when the band also performed in the opera house -- and other noted sit-in directors have included. E.E. Bagley, a Vermont native who rose to national prominence at about the same time as Sousa and is best known today for having penned "National Emblem."
The band's sheet music is the same once used in Claremont by both Sousa and Bagley, now more than 100 years old and, Evensen notes, almost fragile. Still, its small-print notes have served generations of summertime players in the city, and, Evensen says, will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It is, like the band itself, steeped in tradition.
Thursday, a handful of youngsters jockeyed for the best positions on the two cannons that face the bandbox. There was a time, the veteran director recalls, that "you had to show up early to get a good spot" on one of the historic weapons, but today's audience is generally older than those that filled the park to take in the free performances in decades past.
Yes, Evensen concedes, times have changed, even in Broad Street Park on a hot Thursday summer night.
There are fewer youngsters in the crowd now, and much more traffic flowing along Broad Street. And because of the increased traffic noise, lawn chair use has become more and more prevalent among concert viewers over the past few decades, positioning the listeners -- who, largely, used to enjoy the performance from the comfort of their cars, closer to the stage and the unamplified band.
There have been many changes in the half-century since Evensen used to watch his mother perform with the band, many since he began himself 47 summers ago.
But, he says, many things remain constant; the music, the performer's dedication to excellence, and the audience's appreciation of the musician's labors. Good music, it seems, never goes out of style.
The Claremont American Band performs every Thursday night during the summer at 8 p.m., weather permitting, at the bandstand in Broad Street Park.
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the views of TSV Media Network and its affiliates.
7/11/2008Summer music
Terrific story and terrific guy. Ed is a master and always was. We played in band, orchestra, pep band and a special group where we traveled through the night to Mt Washington for a WMUR TV performance...some years ago. Thanks for keeping the tradition alive!! Cliff Borofsky '67
