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WARREN — The Warren Concert Band has three performances this month at various venues around metropolitan Detroit.
All the performances start at 7 p.m. On Aug. 9, the band performs at Belle Isle. On Aug. 15, the concert is at the First United Methodist Church of Warren. On Aug. 16, there is a show in front of City Hall at Warren City Square. All the performances are free, but according to the band’s director, Jeremy Duby, attendees will need a state park pass to get into the park at Belle Isle.
The all-volunteer team of about 65 musicians will perform a good selection of John Philip Sousa marches including “El Capitan,” “On the Campus,” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” among others. The band will celebrate the 100th anniversary of “On the Mall,” a celebrated march by Edwin Franko Goldman. In addition, the band will perform patriotic tunes in honor of our veterans, and some George Gershwin medleys.
The Warren Concert Band was established in 1972 and in its 51-year history has had three musical directors: Thomas Carey, Douglas Bianchi and Jeremy Duby, who has been with the band since 2011.
“The band has been outstanding in its entire history,” Duby said. “I feel that under my direction, we have done a lot of great things. Most recently, we performed at Detroit Orchestra Hall for the celebration of our 50th anniversary, which was a pinnacle performance for the ensemble.”
The band has also incorporated Warren schools in their performances.
“Over the last few years, we’ve implemented a side-by-side honor band where we are able to work with and showcase some of the finest music students from the Warren schools,” Duby said.
Bob Rourke, of Troy, has been with the band for 32 years and has been playing the clarinets since he was 8 years old. After graduating from Redford High School in Detroit in the early 1950s where he played in the band, he went into the service, had a tour in Germany and then worked at Burroughs Corp. After being away from the clarinet for a while, a friend who played with the Warren Concert Band encouraged him to join.
“I did (join). I went back and took my lessons for about a year and got up to speed,” said Rourke.
“You get better, and better, and better as the years go by. It’s amazing,” he said.
Rourke joined the group in the 1989-1990 season and enjoys being with the group.
“Once I joined the Warren Concert Band, it was so fun and so many great people in it. Everyone is happy, playing, and enjoying the music together,” said Rourke. “Jeremy (Duby) came along, and he just makes everything so wonderful. Everybody in the band loves him. Such a great director.”
Rourke also likes the diversity of the group.
“In the Warren Concert Band, it has every kind of person you can imagine,” said Rourke. “Some are former teachers, some are students. It has every age.”
Rourke will turn 90 in October and attributes playing the clarinet to his strong breathing.
“I swear it (playing the clarinet) has something to do with your breathing because you’re always breathing strong,” said Rourke. “I go to the doctor, and I am doing pretty nicely.”
For Warren residents, Duby said the Warren Concert Band is “a diamond in their backyard.”
“It is an outstanding ensemble that plays at the highest musical abilities while providing a vast amount of musical entertainment for our audiences,” he said.
For more information about the Warren Concert Band and its performances, visit warrenconcertband.com.
