Young Musicians Will Play With The Community Band

WESTPORT — The Westport Community Band and talented area middle school musicians will be participating together in the annual Play With The Community Band project in a concert on Friday, May 20, at 8 pm, at Bedford Middle School.

For the ninth year, Westport Community Band invited local middle school band directors to nominate instrumental students to participate in this activity. These students have rehearsed not only among themselves, but with the Community Band to prepare for the concert that concludes this year’s project. Community Band members mentor the younger students in a resulting exchange of musical information which has proved most beneficial to the building musicians.

Both groups are under the direction of Westport Community Band’s director, Sal LaRusso, who is also the director of Weston High School Band.

Participants are from Middlebrook School, Wilton; Reed Intermediate School, Newtown; Side by Side, a community school in Norwalk; Roton School, Rowayton; Ludlowe Middle School, Fairfield; Saxe Middle School, New Canaan; Bedford Middle School and Greens Farms Academy, both of Westport; and Weston Middle School.

Participating student musicians from Newtown are Ishan Tatake on alto saxophone, R.J. Roman on trumpet, and Brian White on trombone.

Each year members of Westport Community Band look forward to helping to mentor their younger fellow musicians. Thus far over 600 area student musicians have passed through this well received program. The feedback from the student musicians and their parents has been positively outstanding.

Admission to the concert is free and is open to the public. The students and the Community Band will share the stage with each group playing selections alone as well as a combined band.