January 9, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CVSM COMMUNITY SYMPHONIC BAND TO HOLD CONCERT ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25

CHAMBERSBURG.  The CVSM Community Symphonic Band will be holding its annual winter concert at 3:00 PM on Sunday, January 25, at Chambersburg Area Middle School, 115 East McKinley St., Chambersburg, PA.  Admission to the concert is free, although donations to the non-profit Cumberland Valley School of Music are gratefully accepted.

            The band includes musicians from all walks of life, including many professional musicians and educators, who enjoy playing challenging concert band repertoire, which runs the gamut from classical music and concert marches to jazz and musical theater.

            Under the expert guidance of conductor David Wenerd, the eclectic and challenging program includes  the march "Salutation" by Pennsylvania composer Roland Seitz; overture on “Break Forth Thou Wondrous Heavenly Light” by Calvin Custer; “Symphonic Suite” by Clifton Williams; “Entry of the Gladiators” by Julius Fucik; “Ballade” by Alfred Reed (featuring an alto saxophonist Nicole Fitzsimmons); “Root Beer Rag”  by Billy Joel; “Grace Praeludium” by Francis McBeth, “Zahal March” by Talmi; “Fantasy on an African-American Spiritual” by Preuninger;  “The Best of Broadway”; and “The Black Horse Troop” by John Philip Sousa.

            Nicole Fitzsimmons, an alumni of the CVSM, holds a bachelor of Music Education degree from West Chester University, where she performed with the WCU Golden Rams Marching Band, Saxophone Ensemble, Statesman Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic and Concert Bands.  She currently is music teacher at Corpus Christi School in Chambersburg, and performs with the CVSM Concert Jazz Band.

            This year, there is an added celebration.  Three generations of one family are all participating in the band together, and Charles Levin, who plays bass clarinet, will celebrate his 90th birthday on January 25, the day of the concert!  His daughter, Cindy Shank, plays clarinet with the band and her son, Zachary Shank, is playing percussion.  Zach is a 7th grade student at James Buchanan Middle School.  

Band director David Wenerd holds a B.S. in Music Education from Temple University and a Masters in Music Education from Catholic University.  He is chairman of the Chambersburg Area School District Music Department, director of the CVSM Concert Jazz Band and The Towne Singers, and an active trombonist.  He has been the director of the CVSM Community Band since its inception in 1993.

            The Cumberland Valley School of Music is a non-profit, certified member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, with nearly 600 students and 53 faculty members.  The school teaches lessons and classes on all orchestral and band instruments as well as voice, piano, and guitar, and offers a wide variety of programs and ensembles for students of all ages, from toddlers to adults, at locations in Chambersburg, Waynesboro, and Mercersburg.  For more information call the Cumberland Valley School of Music at (717)-261-1220.