It’s been a busy year for the Tintamarre Community Concert Band, formerly the Sackville Citizens’ Band.
“The key word in our new name is ‘community’,” says musical director Rob MacLeod. “And we are trying to start involving the community more in what it is that we’re doing.”
In 2024, that meant a performance at the Sackville Remembrance Day ceremony, concerts in the park, and a course offering for the Tantramar Seniors College. “It was basically based on the inner workings of a concert band,” says MacLeod. “we studied some scores, and took a look at what how a concert band is built, and how that works.”
”They even tried some basic conducting skills, and then got to sit in on a couple of rehearsals and watch the musicians in practice,” says MacLeod.
This Thursday evening the band caps off their year with their annual winter concert at Mount Allison’s Brunton Auditorium, featuring a large variety of musical styles and, “yes, there is the seasonal stuff at the end,” says MacLeod, “so don’t worry.”
After this week’s concert the band will take a break until spring 2025. MacLeod hopes the year ahead will continue to see the band grow in musicians and resources.
The current band has 25 members, and MacLeod is hoping there’s more musicians out there interested in helping to grow the band. “It’s amazing what a smaller ensemble like that can accomplish,” he says, but “in my perfect world, I’d love to have 60 members with a full percussion section and, you know, all the bells and whistles, literally.”
The Tintamarre Community Concert Band plays its annual winter concert this Thursday at the Brunton Auditorium in the Mount Allison Conservatory of Music on Main Street. The show starts at 7:30pm Thursday, and admission is by donation.
