How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall? Practice, Man, Practice! Jeanne Fasano Wall Township High School imjf2u@aol.com
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ractice, practice, practice…and spend a lot of money! But it is worth it! In 1967, a gallon of gas cost 33 cents, the Beatles were a big hit, I’m a Believer was a top song and a small community band was born. The Greater Shore Area Community Band, as it was titled for six years, held its very first rehearsal on a warm September evening at the Meadowbrook School in Eatontown under the direction of Henry Melnick. Today, now known as The Greater Shore Concert Band, this diverse group of almost eighty musicians continues to meet at the Vetter School in Eatontown under the direction of James R. Bast, who has directed the band for 29 years and Tom Mosher who has been the assistant director for 14 years. There are two members who were present at that very first rehearsal fifty years ago: Bob Arnts and Susan Mast. This remarkable group has a lot of history, and continues to entertain audiences near and far. During Bast’s tenure, the band has performed throughout coastal New Jersey and has taken two tours to Europe. Working in central Jersey, the band has played in all sorts of weather and venues which include the Pollak Auditorium at Monmouth University, boardwalks, churches, and most notably, embarked on a 9-day tour in 2003 where they performed concerts in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Each year, the band performs several holiday and spring concerts in local venues and a final concert is performed in May. Ronald Cohen, president of the band, saxophone player and band announcer/narrator, engages the audience with an interesting and sometimes amusing history of each selection and its composer. Well-rehearsed compositions earn standing ovations at most performances. The band celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2007 by featuring Scott Shelsta, TEMPO
a trombone soloist for “Pershing’s Own,” (The US Army Band), as a guest artist. A colorful and dramatic performer, he delighted the audience as he authentically portrayed the legendary Arthur Pryor known as “The World’s Oldest Musician”, from 1890’s Americana. In 2010, one of Jim’s first and most accomplished students, Jeffrey Lang, a French horn instructor and member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, came home to his alma mater, Wall High School, NJ to perform Mozart’s Second Horn Concerto with the band. The members enjoyed his musical insights during rehearsals as much as the audience embraced his remarkable talent during
Jim Bast, GSCB Director the year-end performance. When the band was organized in 1967, it was decided they would be a non-profit band dedicated solely to the audience’s enjoyment of music. So far, it appears, the band has not lost sight of its goal. From the beginning, the ensemble was comprised of musicians from all walks of life, including lawyers, salespeople, housewives, music instructors, physicians, and students, just to name a few. What draws them? Surely, it’s a love of music. At any given concert, you 44
can expect to hear well-known Broadway musical medleys, jazz, compositions by such greats as Franz Schubert, George Gershwin, and Henry Fillmore, military marches and selections that feature soloists or sections. Holiday concerts feature well-known Christmas and Hanukkah selections, with a few military marches that the band plays enthusiastically in up-tempo. The common denominator, regardless of age, is that all players exercise their best efforts to have fun while playing challenging music of all periods and styles. Apparently, they’re doing a fine job, as evidenced by the fact that they were given an opportunity to share their talents, at what many deem to be the greatest concert hall in the world. As publicist and flutist for this remarkable group, I will never forget the day we were given the news of being considered by the Board of Directors of Carnegie Hall to play our 50th Anniversary Concert there on May 20, 2017. It all started a year and a half prior to the anniversary when Jim decided it would be a fantastic experience for the band to perform at Carnegie Hall. He contacted the people there for information on how to proceed. Contrary to popular opinion, unless you are a big name that will draw a passive audience and make them a lot of money, Carnegie Hall does not invite people to perform there. The hall is offered for rent, but the renter gets to keep the ticket sales. They informed him that he needed to send recordings of the band to let them see how we performed and that the rental cost was approximately $60,000. Jim informed the band of his plans at our September meeting in 2015. There was OCTOBER 2017
