The Lowcountry Community Concert Band plays ‘Pops from Stage to Screen’
That would have been the end of this story. But one May evening in 2015 my wife and I attended a concert at our church by the Lowcountry Community Concert Band (LCCB). One of the flute players in the front row looked familiar. The program listed one Jaki Fesq. Yes, someone we’d last known in college in the 1970s was now tootling away in “A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch” and other light classics. We got to talking after the show, and upon learning I still had my old tuba, Jaki immediately urged me to join the band. I did, and have been having a blast ever since.
But, don’t take my word for it. Experience for yourself what the Lowcountry Community Concert Band is all about. Our latest offering, “Concert Band Pops from Stage and Screen,” will be performed on two dates: Tuesday, April 24, at 7:00 pm, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 351 Buckwalter Parkway, Bluffton; and Sunday, April 29, at 3:00 pm, at Magnolia Hall, located at 114 Sun City Lane, Sun City, Bluffton. Admission to both events is free.
The program includes Jersey Boys, highlights from the 2005 Four Seasons jukebox musical; selections from Phantom of the Opera, the 1986 smash Broadway hit by Andrew Lloyd Webber; The Rebellion Is Reborn, by John Williams, from the 2017 movie hit Star Wars: The Last Jedi; The Symphonic Gershwin, an arrangement of George Gershwin favorites An American In Paris, Rhapsody in Blue, and Cuban Overture; Shenandoah’s Simple Gifts, a concert band staple by Larry Clark that combines two folk tunes, Shenandoah and It’s A Gift To Be Simple; The Syncopated Clock, a Leroy Anderson classic; a stirring band arrangement of Nessun Dorma (“none shall sleep”), an aria from Giacomo Puccini’s 1926 opera, Turandot; and Suite of Old American Dances, a 1949 concert band work of five movements by Robert Russell Bennett.
The LCCB performs under the baton of Conductor/Artistic Director David Carbone, who has 
over 30 years of experience in music education and the marching arts as a performer, conductor, educator, arranger, and adjudicator, including a 23-year career as a band director and music educator at the high school and collegiate levels in Florida, Ohio, and Texas. David Hershey, our Associate Conductor, is a former U.S. Army musician who retired after 24 years of service as a Trumpeter and Music Production Specialist. During this time he served as Soloist on national and international tours, as well as Principal Player, Section Leader, Group Leader, and Music Support Division Chief. Dave graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has had numerous musical experiences and projects with many of America’s well-known band leaders. A member of LCCB for several years, Dave is also Music Director of the Lowcountry Jazz Band and performs with the Evolution Big Band.
The LCCB operates as a program of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of South Carolina – Beaufort. OLLI provides intellectually stimulating, non-credit programs geared for adults of the Lowcountry age 50-plus. The LCCB provides an opportunity for musicians of all ages and abilities to play instrumental music together for enjoyment as well as to perform for the community. Any OLLI member, as well as students and adults of any age, can join the band. Students are exempt from paying the OLLI membership fee that is required for participating in the band.
The LCCB is 100% self-sustaining, and receives no state or local funding. Donations are welcome, and are used for buying new music and equipment, repairing instruments, and paying for transporting equipment to concert venues. For additional information, contact Rick Eckstein at (843) 707-7813, or Pete Johnson at (267) 884-6805. Please visit our LCCB website at www.ollilccb.com.
