Community Bandstand Concert Series Begins

The sounds of the Big Band Era will emanate from the Wolfeboro Community Bandstand on Saturday, July 1, as the Compaq Big Band makes its return to town to kick off the Friends of the Wolfeboro Community Bandstand summer concert series.

The Compaq Big Band got its start as the DECbigband, formed in 1975 as one of the many employee clubs at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in Massachusetts. At that time, DEC was establishing itself as the premier company in the minicomputer industry and was one of the largest employers in New England.

The company provided a small amount of startup funds for music, stands and uniforms and employees from all sorts of positions at DEC came together for practices each week and performed for free, at first at DEC corporate functions then into community outdoor concerts and benefit dance events in the region.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band, like Digital, experienced a membership turnover and as downsizing hit the company, it became clear that the band would need to complement its Digital employee ranks with local area musicians and with fewer Digital-sponsored functions, the band’s reach moved toward Worcester and southern New Hampshire.

When DEC was absorbed into Compaq in 1998, the band continued to present a positive image of the company by providing high quality, affordable big band music to the New England community and in 2000, the band became the Compaq Big Band.

Compaq was acquired by Hewlett-Packard and received support from the company in the form of a weekly rehearsal venue and storage space for equipment, but in 2008, the band stopped receiving that support from the company and is no longer affiliated with HP.

However, several current band members are DEC, Compaq or HP alumni who maintain a connection to the company tradition and culture and the band is rounded out by various area musicians who embrace the band’s non-profit operating philosophy.

The Friends of the Wolfeboro Community Bandstand concerts take place each Saturday night in July and August, weather permitting, in the bandstand, located in Cate Park in downtown Wolfeboro on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee.

If weather should cause the concert to be cancelled, signs will be posted at the entrance to Cate Park and a notice will be posted on the Friends of the Wolfeboro Community Bandstand Facebook page.

The concerts will begin at 7 p.m. and run for two hours, with a short intermission, at which time a pass the bucket offering will be held to support the free concert series.