Where’s the band? That was the question Jan and Larry Anderson asked four-and-a-half years ago as the retired couple looked around their beloved town of Danville. Surrounding cities offered a plethora of playing opportunities for community music mavens, but Danville was a borough without a band.
This dissonant state of musical affairs was unacceptable to Larry Anderson. A life-long music educator and band director, Larry knew that musicians need a place to perform. Danville was simply a city without a conductor; if he waved his baton, surely the music would come forth.
A local newspaper reporter offered the Andersons the opportunity to compose their call to closet instrumentalists, inviting them to attend a rehearsal at San Ramon high school.
“We invited anyone to join us; no performing experience was necessary,” recalled Jan. “The paper ran the story, then we headed to San Ramon Valley High to see who would show up.”
Other experienced community band directors warned the Andersons not to expect too much initial response.
“We were hoping for 25 musicians to attend the first rehearsal,” Larry explained. “We knew our timing wasn’t great, our first meeting was the week after the Sept. 11 attack.”
But 50 enthusiastic musicians showed up, instruments in hand.
“Amazingly, we had a fairly good balance of instruments,” said Larry. “And they were all pretty talented.”
Jan smiled as she recalled listening to the band strike up its first song: “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Before they finished, I was crying,” she said. “When they followed with ‘God Bless America,’ I couldn’t stop.”
By the end of the night, Danville had a band.
Three-and-a-half years later, Jan and Larry find themselves astonished by the series of harmonious events that have propelled the Danville Community Band to incredible success.
“All of our growth and accomplishments have happened through a miraculous stream of generosity,” Jan said. “A lawyer friend helped us become established as a not-for-profit organization, a tedious process we would not have wanted to navigate on our own. When the band grew to 85 members and became too big for the high school where we had been practicing, the Community Presbyterian Church generously offered us the use of their sanctuary every Monday night.”
Jan continued marveling at how the pieces just keep falling into place. “It seems as though every time we’re about to face a stumbling block, somehow something comes through for us,” she said.
These minstrels perform under the moniker of “community band,” and Jan points out that its existence is due to the generous support of the Danville community and other area sponsors. “While the Danville Arts Commission has been very encouraging, we don’t receive any money from the city,” she said.
The band’s season runs from September until June, and requires an annual budget of $10,000-15,000.
“It is far more expensive to perform than you might initially think,” Jan said. “For example, because we are so young, we don’t have an extensive library of music established. We think we are doing well to already have a selection of more than 300 tunes; other more established bands have thousands. Every year, every concert, we have to buy more. Just one song is $75 or $80 for the set of sheet music.”
Multiply that by the 10 songs performed at each engagement, figure on seven performances per season, add in the cost of a rental truck to transport the larger instruments, and it is easy to understand why donations are so appreciated.
“The contributions run about even with our needs,” continued Jan. “Of course, we have a wish list of items we would love to have: a vibraphone, a gong, chimes. Right now we just don’t have the volunteer system or staff necessary for large fundraising opportunities.”
“Staff?” said Larry with a smile. “Jan is the staff. She is exceptionally dedicated. It’s a full time non-paying position she has taken on. She is the hardest working member of the band.”
It does require lots of effort, Jan agrees, and she would love to recruit more volunteers, but she is not complaining.
“It’s time consuming, but very fulfilling,” Jan said.
If there were more hands to help, she added, there is a lot that could be accomplished. So far they have performed at outdoor venues, and at the Blackhawk Museum, the Presbyterian Community Church and the East Bay Fellowship. If they allow themselves to dream a little, the Andersons envision a concert hall in the city they have called home for many years.
“Danville needs a large auditorium,” Larry began. “It would have to seat 1,000 to 1,500 but it could be rented out, it could be a money maker.” He stopped and considered a moment, then added, “We just need to win the lottery to buy the land.”
Of course, Larry and Jan are the first to admit how much progress has been achieved since that first rehearsal in 2001.
“We are the newest community band in the area, and we are the largest,” said Larry. “We have a great following – we can expect audiences of 500 to 600 people at our performances.”
In fact, until that fantasy concert hall becomes a brick-and-mortar reality, the Danville Community Band’s biggest problem is that its hometown offers no venue large enough to accommodate it.
Which is why the Andersons and their musicians have recently decided to take the trumpets, tubas, trombones and tenor sax – along with the rest of the orchestra – to every East Bay community band’s dream destination: the Hofmann Theatre at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.
“The sound there is just incredible,” Larry stated unequivocally. “But it is a formidable task to perform there.”
The conductor and his wife are a little nervous about the upcoming June 5 performance, but it’s not a typical case of stage fright.
“This will be the first time we have asked our fans to purchase tickets to attend one of our concerts,” Jan explained. “There is no way around it at the Lesher Center. We will need to sell about 400 of the 785 seats to break even.”
If the regulars show up, that should be no problem.
“We just need to make sure we get the word out there, make sure people have the opportunity to enjoy our music wherever we play,” she said.
The Andersons have planned a full afternoon of entertainment for those privileged patrons who fill the seats at what the Danville band considers its “debut” concert. It’s called “As Time Goes By – Musical Memories of the ’20s, ’30s and More” and promises something for everyone, including performances by nationally recognized vocalist Jodi Lavender Aldredge and local recording artists Linda Thorp and Julie Winter.
Band members may differ when discussing which selection is likely to be the biggest crowd pleaser, but the moment the musicians are most eagerly anticipating is a different sort of arrangement – no notes involved: As a tribute to the community support and good fortune that have allowed the band to achieve so much, the Andersons have prepared a special presentation for the event.
“This year we decided it was time to give back some of the generosity we have been lucky to benefit from,” said Larry. “We initiated a program called ‘Making More Than Music’ dedicated to providing new instruments for deserving young musicians in the area. On June 5 we will be awarding a clarinet to a 10-year-old girl from Twin Creeks Elementary and a trombone to an eighth-grade girl from Stone Valley Middle School.”
These students were nominated by their school band directors in response to a letter the Andersons sent to local campuses. A percentage of the day’s ticket sales will be earmarked for the Making More Than Music program, which they intend to expand with the growth of the band.
While the Andersons modestly marvel at the remarkable success of the Danville Community Band, it is clear there is nothing accidental about their achievements. Born of a heartfelt passion and driven by constant commitment, the members of this musical menagerie have become a tremendous community asset.
Thanks to the Andersons, no one in Danville has to wonder, “Where is the band?”
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