The Prince Albert Concert Band hopes to keep the St. Patrick’s Day spirit going, while also getting the word out to new members with an Irish Pub Night at the Rock Trout Events Centre.
Concert Band President Corinne Delparte said they’ve been struggling since COVID hit. They’re hoping to raise a few funds with the pub night, and attract some new musicians too.
“We thought we’d try a fundraising event that would shine a little light on our association and maybe some Prince Albert business as well, just to create fun evening out,” Delparte explained.
“During COVID … the band still kept on playing, but our numbers decreased. Just getting people back out and involved in community events has been a bit more challenging than anticipated, but we do have a fairly strong core still and we’re hoping to entice more people to come out and join us by being visible in the community a little more.”
The March 23rd event will have an Irish theme, with food, live music, and door prizes. Delparte said they originally hopes to host it on the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, but couldn’t find a venue.
“We just thought we’d keep the theme, go with March, and extend it a little longer,” she explained.
Delparte said the concert band still produces music, but would like to have more musicians. The group performed their annual Christmas concert in December, and has a spring performance planned in partnership with St. Mary High School choir. They’ve also joined forces with concert bands in other communities like Tisdale in an effort to beef up their numbers.
The concert band performs under the direction of Shannon Fehr and Julie Abbs. Fehr said they have less than 20 members right now, and would love to have at least 30.
“Right now we were very limited by our instrumentation at the moment, particularly low brass,” she explained. “We need trombone players like you wouldn’t believe. Trombone players. French Horn players. We could use a whole lot more brass and that would allow us to dig into some really meaningful concert band music.”
In addition to performing live concert, the band sponsors students heading to band camps, and gives provides high school scholarships. They also promote music in the community through events like longterm care home performances.
Fehr said the concert band helps enrich her life. She’s hopeful the Irish Pub Night will help others see the value of it too.
“After a long day of work, there are very frequently evenings where I don’t really feel like getting off the couch to go and conduct the band, but I’m always grateful every time that I do,” she said. “It’s always a rewarding experience to go out and do something that is not related to what you’re doing in the daily grind.”
Doors open for the Prince Albert Concert Band Irish Pub Night at 6:30 p.m. on March 23, with the meal at 7 p.m. Tickets are available from any band member, or from princealbertconcertband@gmail.com.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
