ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Current and former musicians looking for a place to play will soon have just that chance.
‘That’ Liberal Band instructors Andrew Johnson and Benjamin Hogan are seeking members of the area to form a community band.
“The goal is to form a community band, and we'd like to, at some point in the summer, put on a performance for Liberal. We want the group to consist of musicians of all different levels all the way from middle school to people in the community who are looking to pick up their instrument again after not playing for a while,” Johnson said. “We’re welcoming current students, former students and alumni, and maybe new transplants to town looking for an opportunity to play. There's already an opportunity to perform here in Liberal with the Southwest Symphony Society, but this group we're putting together is more for instruments not typically seen in an orchestral setting. We'd also looked at some nearby communities – Garden City’s got a community band, and so do Dodge City and Hays and Great Bend, so we thought 'Why not Liberal?' We're looking at some other aspects associated with such an endeavor – for example, people who participate in the Garden City and Dodge City bands pay their members who meet certain expectations, so we're exploring maybe doing something similar in the future, and that would be a nice incentive.”
Hogan said the idea for putting together such a group came about rather oddly.
“I'd had a random thought about it a couple weeks ago. I used to play in a community orchestra back in Virginia, which was great, and I thought it would be great to have that same opportunity in Liberal,” Hogan said. “We sent out a Google Docs interest form to gauge the level of interest, and so far, we've gotten about 25 responses from people in the community. You don't have to be an Liberal High School alumnus to join this group – if you play an instrument and want to play, this would be a great chance for you.”
Hogan and Johnson offered encouragement for participation in the group.
“We've got some former students in the area who don't have that outlet but want one. There's one former student who's asked us a few times to join the jazz band or play with 'That' Liberal Band, and that's another thing that made me think there might be some interest in a community band,” Hogan said.
“And I can actually completely relate to that – the only real playing I do anymore is in class when I'm demonstrating something or filling in a part for a particular day, so I kind of miss having that creative outlet just to play,” Johnson added. “I do get some opportunities every once in a while, like if a Rainbow Players show needs an extra instrumentalist, or an Seward County Community College show or something like that, but those are rather few and far between, so this is a good opportunity for that creativity. Don't be shy, and don't feel like you have to be at a certain level of talent to participate, we're welcoming everyone. We're not going to immediately be playing professional level music, we really want this to be a fun time and a good way for people who want to play to make some good music and meet some other fellow musicians.”
With the idea still being rather new, however, Johnson said some of the logistical details are still being worked out.
“We're still ironing out all the logistical details as far as when rehearsals will be and all of that. That was on the response form and we asked what day(s) would be good to host rehearsals, and we're still gathering those responses,” Johnson said. “We're also still looking at potential dates for the concert itself. Right now, we're more in the data-gathering phase of everything and figuring out how/when to officially set everything. Something else for people to consider is if you have your own instrument, that's great, so bring it with you, but we do have some instruments here that can be borrowed, but I don't think we'll allow them to be taken home. Not everyone has a tuba just lying around, or certain other instruments, so we will have that chance.”
Johnson added there is already some excitement surrounding the group.
“It's been interesting seeing some of our incoming members come out of the woodwork – for example, Caitlin Morgan, who teaches English, played clarinet when she was in school, which we absolutely did not know, and she signed up,” Johnson said. “We've had the same response to a few other community members who are in professions that are basically the complete opposite of being a musician, and it's great seeing all these people want to participate in something like this. In terms of the music itself, we'll first need to assess the overall ability level of the group and see how everyone meshes and sounds before anything is set in stone in terms of musical selection. However, community bands tend to lean toward performing marches and similar pieces, so that's something we'll consider. We can play basically whatever we want, but we also have to make sure everyone in the group actually CAN play the music, so there are multiple factors to consider there, and that's true of pretty much any ensemble. We also have to take into consideration the number of rehearsals we'll actually have, because the music will have to be learned somewhat quickly.”
Those interested in participating can send a message through the 'That' Liberal Band @ LHS page on Facebook, or they can email Johnson at
“Don't count yourself out right away. If you have any interest, we will find a spot for you in the group,” Johnson said. “The worst thing you can do is not try, so I would encourage anyone with any interest to at least give it a shot.”
