Crittenden County Community Band is formed

CCCB Director Phil Burns and Band President Jim Cosgrove

The newly-formed Crittenden County Community Band will have its first rehearsal and organizational meeting on May 25 from 7 to 9 PM in the West Memphis High School band room. Experienced brass, woodwind and percussion players from 10th grade through adult are invited to join. The band is an all-volunteer organization, and there is no audition necessary.

Veteran band director, C. Phil Burns, is the band’s conductor.  Burns has conducted bands for 28 years and was the director of the WMHS band from 1974 to 1987, leading the band to many prestigious awards. “I am thrilled to be a part of the band,” said Burns, who is now one of the choir directors at First United Methodist Church in West Memphis and Arkansas Sales Manager for Amro Music in Memphis. “I look forward to helping build a band that the communities of West Memphis and Marion and all of Crittenden County will be proud of.”

Jim Cosgrove, president and organizer of the band, noted that local players have wanted a community band for years. “There has been a lot of excitement from players so far.  I’m glad that it’s going to be a reality,” Cosgrove said. “A community band provides the opportunity for players of all ages to practice and enjoy the skills they learned (or are still learning) in school as a service to their community.”

“The ability to play an instrument is a joy that lasts a lifetime,” Cosgrove added. “Besides the personal enjoyment that a player receives, a community band is a very public way of demonstrating the importance and lasting benefits of a solid music education.”

The Crittenden County Community Band hopes to perform up to four concerts per year.

The band not only needs players, but also volunteers for advertising and publicity, fundraising, rehearsal and concert set up, and organizing the music library.  Interested players and volunteers should visit www.CrittendenBand.Com for details and to pre-register, or call Jim Cosgrove at 870-559-3062.

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