The Saskatchewan Band Association is bringing 'Band in the Park' to Weyburn's Jubilee Park on Tuesday evening. It's an opportunity for band musicians to bring their brass, reed, wind, or percussion instruments out for an open-air musical interlude that is completely free for those playing, and for those listening.
Events Coordinator Addisen Nelson said musicians can register online to access the music prepared for the event.
"We use this as an opportunity to get community members together to play. We mostly focus on band instruments because that's what our association is for, but if you have a percussion instrument, you're welcome to bring that out. I'm sure we have music that fits and works for string instruments if they want."
Musicians will need to bring their instrument, music stand, and something to sit on, but otherwise, the only commitment required is to show up on the day of the 'Band in the Park' and play for an hour to an hour and a half, with no practice required.
"Band in the Park is more of an open rehearsal, and like a concert-type situation. So if you don't look at the music until you print it out right before you come to the band in the park, that's fine. If you want to practice it ahead of time, you're more than welcome to do that as well. We encourage folks to print off their music so that they can read it. We give them access to a Google Drive, which has all the music in it."
Nelson said some choose to access the music directly from their iPad or something similar.
"We encourage folks to show up around 6:45 so they have a chance to set up and get familiar with the folks around them, and then they start playing at 7, and we have our end time set as 8:30, but it's really up to the discretion of the Director. They'll play for as long or as little as they feel is necessary. We definitely shoot to go for at least an hour. All of the music is pretty easy. It's pretty quick and it's pretty fun."
The all-ages event is geared toward adults and students alike, but is geared toward adults.
"It's targeted towards our adult communities, but of course, we're more than happy to see folks who are in high school or elementary school who are playing band instruments. But for some of these adults, this might be the only time that they are able to play their instrument in a community setting like that."
"At our Lumsden Band in the Park [on Canada Day], we had a student who just finished Grade 6, which meant they had just finished their first year of playing trumpet. They came in, they played, and they weren't able to play everything, but they certainly were playing notes here and there, which was great to see," she explained.
As with any concert, an audience is ideal, whether intentional or otherwise.
"We do it out in parks because usually there will be people who are walking by and that's a great opportunity for them to listen, too, because band in general, you have to choose to go out to these concerts, so this is one of the ways that we try and make it accessible to all."
"They walk past and they go, 'oh, that's interesting. I like that. I want to maybe see more of this. I've never heard something like this before!' If you're just out for a walk, hearing kids play or adults playing and enjoying themselves doing sports is great, but if you go for a walk and you hear some music, well, that might even be a little bit better if you ask me. But alas, I might be a little bit biased on that fact as well."
Nelson said the project began during the COVID shutdowns, because it was one of the only ways to get musicians together, keeping the six-foot distancing rules in place while being able to perform for the public.
"Now it's a great opportunity for community members to go play their instruments if they want, and if there are other community members who want to come out and listen, they're more than welcome."
Register HERE.
The Saskatchewan Band Association was founded in 1983 with a goal to make band accessible for all.
