The Eastern Hillsborough Community Band will perform a concert at St. Stephen Catholic Church ahead of the Fourth of July.
The concert, to be held on Friday, June 28, beginning at 7 p.m., will feature patriotic music from the band, whose members range from amateurs to professional musicians.
St. Stephen Deacon and director of music Mike Sweeney said the church was excited to welcome the band back after their Christmas concert at the church.
“From our perspective at St. Stephen, we’re very excited to have the band back at St. Stephen,” Sweeney said. “…We estimated that 1,000 people attended that concert, one of the largest audiences the band has ever had.”
Six St. Stephen parishioners are members of the Eastern Hillsborough Community Band.
“It’s nice for them to be able to take part in the concert in their own spiritual home,” Sweeney said.
There are many former military members at St. Stephen as well, so Sweeney expects the patriotic music will attract them to the concert.
“All of the branches of the military will hear music connected to their branch,” he said.
The band will perform their patriotic concert at New Hope Church in Brandon on Thursday, June 27, at 7 p.m. as well.
The Eastern Hillsborough Community Band was founded in 2009 as an all-volunteer band. Since growing from 10 members to nearly 80 members now, the band has become a nonprofit organization located out of Brandon. The band performs a mix of music, such as marches, contemporary and jazz, in the Tampa Bay area.
The band was founded to foster a love for music while entertaining and inspiring its audience.
“Members are not required to ‘pay to play,’” according to the band’s website. “Instead, we are funded by our generous donors and proceeds from our concerts.”
To join the band, musicians with the ability to read music and with experience from their high school band can visit its website and fill out the form under the “Join the Band” tab. Those interested in sponsoring or donating to the band can visit the “Support Us” tab.
For more information on the Eastern Hillsborough Community Band or to find out about its upcoming concerts, visit www.ehcb.org.
