The East Hillsborough Community Band (EHCB) is looking for musicians to be a part of this wonderful community band. If you just love to play music, the EHCB is for you.
The EHCB is specifically looking for percussionists as well as clarinet and oboe players. Musicians who are a part of the band range from college students to retired people to everything in between.
Cheryl Walkover, Membership Chairman and Secretary for the EHCB said, “Our band’s vision is to foster the love of music, improve our membership and enlighten, entertain and inspire our audience. We strive to have fun and build comradery among our members.”
There are currently 75 members in the EHCB. They practice on Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at New Hope United Methodist Church located at 120 N. Knights Ave. in Brandon. The Conductor for the EHCB is Kenneth Watts. He is an accomplished musician with more than 40 years of experience as a conductor and musician. The Assistant Conductor is Linda Groh. She is a former hornist with the Florida Orchestra and taught orchestra at Brandon High School for 30 years.
The EHCB plays all types of music including classical, jazz, pop, music themes and patriotic.
The EHCB also has a new spin off of a Big Band group. The band averages approximately 12 to 15 performances per year.
According to Walkover, “Our last performance was in Williams Park in downtown St. Petersburg. It was a part of an annual community band day. We were one of five bands who played that afternoon.”
The next performance will be on June 21 at New Hope United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. Then, on June 28, the EHCB will perform at Kings Point in Sun City Center. In December, the EHCB will be a part of Santa Fest which takes place in downtown Tampa at Curtis Hixon Park.
The EHCB was formed in 2009 with a vision from founder Kim McKamey and a handful of interested musicians. McKamey and several others from the original group still play in the band. Walkover said, “We are not just a community band, we are a family who loves to play music.”
For information, visit www.ehcb.org and fill out the form under the tab “Join the Band.”
