The City Of Traralgon Brass Band Marches On

with Stephanie Johnson YOUR STARS AUTUMN 2023

It’s one of Traralgon’s oldest institutions and has been the breeding ground for some of the region’s most talented musicians. And now the City of Traralgon Band is shaking off a long pandemic interruption to continue fostering the next generation of musical artists, performers and entertainers.

As with so many other community and volunteer organisations, the City of Traralgon Band took a hit during the Covid lockdowns. Performances and its popular training program were severely affected.

“It had a big impact not only on the band, but it also impacted our training program,” explained past president and the band’s publicity officer Daryl Hill.

“There were some 40 students within our training program within the band. And these were students ranging from primary school age through to mature adults. And it was quite a large group and that was going extremely well, and we had to stop that with Covid. We’re looking to revisit that in the coming months.”

With such a rich history in Gippsland, it’s little wonder that the band’s training program has proved to be such a drawcard.

Established in 1881, the band has gone through several name changes, but has always remained ingrained in the fabric of Traralgon and the Latrobe Valley.

“It’s something that we’re proud of. It’s one of the oldest institutions in Traralgon. And I think around about the same time the fire brigade was formed, the police station was established, and the football club was founded not long after that. The band is one of the longest-living community organisations in our region.

“The band had a number of name changes over the years. Early last century the band was known as the Traralgon and Ex-Servicemen’s Brass Band and then it was the Traralgon Municipal Band following World War II. When Traralgon became a city in the 1960s we changed the name to City of Traralgon Band, which we incorporated. Since then, there have been council amalgamations, but we’ve retained that name, being a registered, incorporated entity. And that’s something we’re quite proud of because despite significant changes to local governments, to Traralgon and the region, the band has kept that name.”

In 2015 the band undertook an incredible Tour of Remembrance, to honour local servicemen and women who lost their lives on the Western Front. The band travelled around Belgium and France and performed services at the cemeteries and memorial sites along the Western Front. The band also had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform in the famous Whit Friday Brass Band Competition in Yorkshire.

In mid-2022 the band was thrilled to secure the tenure of acclaimed musical director Graeme Cruikshank. After playing with the City of Traralgon Band a decade ago, Graeme has returned to lead the ensemble.

“Graeme is very enthusiastic and musically talented. He’d moved away to Western Australia and successfully conducted the Goldfields Brass Band in Kalgoorlie for a number of years. Covid impacted on that band as well, including the band competition at the National Championships. He’s a very capable and enthusiastic young conductor and we’re very lucky to have him. Graeme’s moved back to Gippsland; he’s currently living in South Gippsland, but he travels over because he enjoys conducting the band. Some other members also travel from South Gippsland and other regions to play with the band.”

Graeme is planning some exciting projects for the band, including a series of recordings and an event at the Gippsland Performing Arts Centre.

It will also be another year full of community performances, including ANZAC Day, the National Band Championships, the State Band Championships and the Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod.

“It gives the musicians a chance to really push themselves in terms of an arrangement of music that may be a little bit difficult but also has to be entertaining as well. So, there’s a lot of work that goes into these competitions. It also provides an opportunity for brass bands to compete against each other. It gives musicians the opportunity to develop their skills and to play something wonderful.”

Although the band is currently 30 members strong, it’s always looking to train the next generation of musicians and expand the membership.

“A number of the members are young, secondary school student age but very, very capable musicians. And many of them will take music as a career path. Some move on to study music at several places, including universities and the conservatorium of music and then come back to play in the band when we’ve got events happening.

“The brass band members are all volunteers. The key to playing in the band is that it’s a community service. We emphasise this aspect to all our members, and particularly to the younger members in our training program. Our training program focuses on developing respect for our community, our band, our performances, ourselves and each other. It’s a wonderful organisation where people of all ages from six to eighty years of age safely interact and learn to become great team members while relying on each other musically and enjoying each other’s company.”

Daryl says it’s not just the younger generation who are welcome to join the band.

“Adults who have not played a brass instrument before may also join the training program, and many adults have successfully joined the band in this way. Despite Covid, we’ve recently been able to introduce six training band members who have graduated to the senior band. Occasionally, relatively experienced musicians will rekindle their love of playing a brass instrument or move into the area and join our band. They are most welcome to come along any time to rehearsal.

“Just rock up and have a listen, meet some of our people. They’re a very friendly and welcoming bunch. Have a chat to Graeme our musical director and you’re welcome to sit in.”

The City of Traralgon Band hosts rehearsals every Wednesday night in the Traralgon Band Rooms in Albert Street starting at 7pm and finishing at 9pm, followed by a social get-together. Anyone who wants to know more about the band can reach out via cityoftraralgonband@gmail.com.

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