The Wayne County Historical Society Summer Community Band is performing under the baton of Randy Claes for his 14th year directing the band. The band has grown since Claes began directing, with more than 75 current members.
On Thursday, July 17 at 7 p.m., the band will perform in downtown Wooster on North Market Street facing the northeast quad, weather permitting. Spectators will need to bring their own lawn chairs. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be in St. Mary’s Church gymnasium.
Presented by Main Street Wooster, the concert is sponsored by the Wayne County Historical Society and Sprenger Health Care. A friend of the Wayne County Historical Society is sponsoring the band for the 14th year and wishes to remain anonymous.
A second concert is planned for Tuesday, July 22 at 7 p.m. in the Sonnenberg Village above Kidron. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held in the barn on the village campus. This concert is sponsored by Sonnenberg Village.
Appreciation is extended to The College of Wooster for the use of practice facilities in Scheide Hall. Also appreciated is St. Mary’s Catholic Church for the use of its school gymnasium if needed.
The band will play marches, show tunes, patriotic songs and more. The group is an effort to recall the bands many communities had a century or so ago. The Wooster Board of Trade Band, with its concerts in the old bandstand in front of the former Annats, then Everything Rubbermaid store (now E&H Hardware), was an example of this type of band.
The band is open to anyone who plays a band instrument including percussion. Members range in age from 13-86. Several members have college degrees in music, and several more played in a college-level band while in college.
