How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall? Practice, Man, Practice!, Jeanne Fasano

How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall? Practice, Man, Practice!

Jeanne Fasano Wall Township High School imjf2u@aol.com

Practice, 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, 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

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 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

Jim Bast, GSCB Director

The Greater Shore Concert Band at Carnegie Hall, May 20, 2017

Photos by Paul Wasserman

shock at hearing about where we were to perform and even greater shock at the amount of money we would need to fundraise. Once the date was selected and the contract signed, we needed to get serious about raising funds. As a non-profit organization, there is no fee to be a member of this group, so we rely on concert venue fees and generous donations from sponsors and patrons to support us. For this, we needed to get creative. We started a Facebook page that attracted dozens of followers each week, which increased our donations through Amazon Smile. We held fundraisers at Houlihans & Boscovs, sold ads in the Playbill, and offered premium seats to donors of $300 or more. We were most fortunate to have an anonymous donor who matched our funds up to $21,000. In record time, we had reached our goal and even surpassed it. The next order of business was to adhere to the strict deadlines set by Carnegie Hall to have everything pre-approved and in writing way ahead of time. A dedicated executive board and staff of volunteer officers took care of every last detail up to and including the day of performance, and helped make a dream into a reality for so many.

When the big day we had been planning for over a year finally arrived, we excitedly boarded the bus and were on our way to NYC. Not five miles down the road, the bus glided to a stop and the driver announced that we were broken down and had to wait for another bus. In a state of disbelief, we all stood on the side of the road wondering if we would arrive in time for our rehearsal. Lo and behold, another bus arrived within an hour, and we were once again on our way. Disaster averted. As we pulled up to the stage door of Carnegie Hall, our excitement grew. In record time, we were on the great stage about to begin our rehearsal/sound check. The feeling I had as I stood there, gazing up at the tiered rows of red velvet seats is almost indescribable: awe, disbelief and utter excitement knowing the audience of over 1,100 people would soon usher in to hear us play. Minutes later, when we finished our opening number, we listened to that final note resonate throughout that magnificent hall, and that’s when it hit me: we had made it to Carnegie Hall! It’s the moment I will never forget! As Tom Mosher eloquently said as he rested his baton after his run through of West Side Story, “We sound pretty good. We should play here more often!”

Our performance was remarkable and with the help of worldclass acoustics, exceeded our expectations. Standing ovations and having to wait for the clapping to die down before beginning our next selection was a testament to the hours and hours of preparation the entire group had accomplished to achieve the goal of celebrating our golden anniversary at Carnegie Hall. The Greater Shore Concert Band has thrived for half a century and will hopefully continue to bring enjoyment to musicians as well as fans for another fifty. Interested musicians are welcome to email Leeann Arnts at laherryar@ gmail.com about joining this exceptional group. Each year, this selfsupporting, non-profit organization awards scholarships to collegebound high school seniors who have shared their talents. Concert venue fees and generous donations from sponsors and patrons continue to support the band, and a dedicated executive board and staff of volunteer officers provide guidance for the band’s continuance and success.

Assistant Director, Tom Mosher, Solos on “Benny Goodman: The King of Swing”

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