Join us!

The Lodi Community Band will again be participating in Lodi’s annual

Veterans’ Day Commemoration

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

11:00 a.m.

American Legion Lodi Post 22
320 N Washington St
Lodi, CA 95240-0608
Call (209) 368-1420 for more information about the ceremony.

Click here to get directions.

Musical highlights will include:

Patriotic marches such as “National Emblem” and “Old Comrades”
“America the Beautiful”
“God Bless America”

~~ and ~~

A special “Armed Forces Salute” to those who served in the various branches of the military
Frank Ticheli’s arrangement of “Shenendoah,” featuring narration of Johnny Cash’s “Ragged Old Flag”

Children’s Concert at the Phillips Farms Pumpkin Patch

Sunday, October 25, 2009
1:30 p.m.

4580 West Highway 12
Lodi, CA 95242
(209) 368-7384

Featuring scary, spooky, fun musical selections sure to entertain the entire family!

Jthe Lodi Community Band at the Lodi Grape Festival on Saturday, September 19, 2009, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.. The Band will be performing on the Foster Lumber Stage situated just inside the Festival Grounds’ Main Gate. (Click here to download a map.)

Admission prices are:
Children 5 & Under: Free
Youth 6 – 12: $4.00 (Free on Thursday, Kids Day)
Adults: $8.00

Admission tickets may be purchased at the Gate or online through September 16, 2009, by clicking here.

Mark Your Calendars!
Other upcoming performances include:
* Phillips Farms Pumpkin Patch — October Date TBA
* Veterans’ Day Commemoration — November 11, 2009

When the fall semester begins on August 17, 2009, the Lodi Community Band’s rehearsals will continue on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the Band Room of Millswood Middle School, 233 North Mills Avenue, Lodi, California.

In order to be a member of the Band, you must register as a San Joaquin Delta College student. The easiest way to register is via the college’s online registration system. If you would like to receive one unit of college credit and a letter grade (A – F), register for Music 028 (Course No. 88288). If you prefer to audit the course and not receive college credit (you may earn a maximum of four credits), register for Music 128 (Course No. 29429).

If you have not previously enrolled in a Delta College class or more than two semesters have elapsed since you last attended the college, you must reapply for admission following the step-by-step directions set forth on Delta’s website.

High school students, please note: You are invited to be a member of the Lodi Community Band and earn one unit of credit from Delta College, but you must be concurrently enrolled in your high school’s band and obtain permission from both your principal and high school band director. Mr. Gross will provide you with the required forms at the first rehearsal of the semester. It is your responsibility to obtain those individuals’ signatures and return the completed forms to Mr. Gross.

Questions? Feel free to contact Mr. Gross via e-mail (regross at clearwire dot net) or speak with him at a Monday evening rehearsal. He will be happy to answer any questions you may have and assist you with the application and/or registration process.

There is ample free parking at Lodi High School. See you there!

Directions to the Millswood Middle School Band Room:

From Turner Road: Turn south onto Mills Avenue (next to General Mills). The school is on your right immediately after and adjacent to First Baptist Church.

From Lodi Avenue: Go north on Mills Avenue, past the intersection of Elm Street and Mills Avenue. The school is on your left immediately before and adjacent to First Baptist church.

Millswood Middle School and First Baptist Church share a large parking lot. The Band Room is at the front of the campus. Enter the school’s front gate past the Cafeteria/Multi-Purpose Room on your left. Proceed straight, up the steps leading to double doors. Follow the sound of your fellow musicians tuning up, preparing to rehearse!

Join us for a

Sunday, August 9, 2009

7:00 p.m.

Hutchins Street Square

Omega Nu Stage

125 South Hutchins Street

Lodi, California

Lawn seating — bring blankets or chairs, picnic dinner, etc.

Admission is free!

There is also ample free parking at Hutchins Streets Square and on the streets surrounding the Square.

Help promote the concert! Download a free poster (.pdf format) and display it! Click here! Thanks!

The Lodi Community Band’s weekly rehearsals continue throughout the summer! We’re meeting every Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Tokay High School Band Room, situated at 1111 West Century Boulevard, Lodi. There is ample free parking in adjacent lot on the west side of the building. Enter the parking lot from Ham Lane or Century Boulevard.

We are currently rehearsing for two exciting musical events that, if you are a band musician, you will want to be a part of:

Click here to download a flyer containing additional information!

Summer Concert

Also on the Hutchins Street Square Lawn, Sunday, August 9, 2009, at 7:00 p.m.

All members of the Band must register for the San Joaquin Delta College Summer 2009 Semester and enroll in Music 128 (Course No. 62185). The easiest way to register is via Delta’s online registration program. If you have not previously enrolled in a Delta College class or more than two semesters have elapsed since you last attended the college, you must reapply for admission following the step-by-step directions set forth on Delta’s website.

High school students, please note: You are invited to be a member of the Lodi Community Band and earn one unit of credit from Delta College, but you must be concurrently enrolled in your high school’s band and obtain permission from both your principal and high school band director. Mr. Gross will provide you with the required forms at the first rehearsal. It is your responsibility to obtain those individuals’ signatures and return the completed forms to Mr. Gross.

Questions? Feel free to contact Mr. Gross via e-mail (regross at clearwire dot net) or speak with him at the first rehearsal. He will be happy to answer any questions you may have and assist you with the application and/or registration process.

“Brings tears to my eyes.”

“What a thrill!”

“This is even better than playing at Carnegie Hall!”

Jerry Lewis and Captain David Paroby

“They make my heart beat a little faster.”

“Some people believe that the world was created in six days and on the seventh day, God rested,” quipped Lodi Community Band Director Bob Gross. “That may be true. But on the eighth day he created the Herald Trumpets!”

Those are just some of the comments overheard this afternoon in the Charlene Powers Lange Performing Arts Center at Hutchins Street Square when members of the Lodi Community Band and 59th Army Band met and began rehearsing with the Herald Trumpets.

Lodi Community Band President Jerry Lewis introduced Captain David Paroby to the ensemble, after which he led the 90 or so assembled musicians through John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme.”  The Herald Trumpets will be featured during that number.  They will also perform “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copland.

WO1 Ron Wolcott

Warrant Officer 1 Ron Wolcott, conductor of the 59th Army Band, also met the group for the first time. After a few introductory remarks, he assured that the musicians are ready to perform “March of the Belgian Paratroopers” and “A Huntington Celebration” during tomorrow’s concerts.

The concerts will kick off with “The Star Spangled Banner,” presentation of the colors, and comments from invited dignitaries including William H. Wade II, Major General, the Adjutant General.  

The works to be performed include “Ligh Cavalry Overture,” “Black Horse Troop March,”  and “Clear Track Polka.”

Among the highlights will be performances by the Herald Trumpets of “Heroic Fanfare” and “Fanfare Fur Stadt Wien.”  The combined bands will perform “American Salute” by Morton Gould under the direction of Captain Paroby.

Of course, no concert featuring United States Army Bands would be complete without “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

When meeting the band, Captain Paroby noted that “it is a great day to be an American.”  Indeed, it was a great day for the lucky and inspired members of the Lodi Community Band and 59th Army Band to be able to come together with the Herald Trumpets and make beautiful music.  

And today is also a great day to get your tickets for one of tomorrow’s performances.  Seats are still available through the Hutchins Street Square Box Office for tomorrow’s 2:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. performances at a cost of $20.00 each.  You definitely will not want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience the pomp, spendor, and  musicianship of the unequalled Herald Trumpets!

Todd Baldwin regularly takes part in the most historic and solemn events in Washington.

He’s been doing that for 19 years.

Yet performing in faraway outposts such as Lodi can be just as inspiring as his formal experiences in the nation’s capital.

“We definitely make a bigger impact away from D.C.,” said Master Sgt. Baldwin, a member of the U.S. Army Band Pershing’s Own Herald Trumpets, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year. “People haven’t heard a group with so unique a sound. It’s so powerful. It evokes a more excited, enthusiastic response.”

That’s likely to be the reaction Sunday when the 17-member unit, conducted by Capt. David Paroby, performs twice as part of concerts being staged by the Lodi Community Band at Hutchins Street Square.

It’s the group’s first visit to California since accompanying the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra on July 4, 2002.

Bob Gross, conductor of the 45-member Lodi group, who spent a year helping arrange the Herald Trumpets’ visit, already is excited.

“They’re truly a national treasure,” said Gross, a member of U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard bands from 1968 until 2004. “This organization is just phenomenal. These guys are musically and technically pros of the highest caliber.

“To have them come to the West Coast – to Lodi – is an honor and a privilege.”

That’s how Baldwin, 47, has approached his musical duties and other military training and responsibilities for 25 years.

“Oh sure,” said the native of Kansas City, Mo., who grew up in El Paso, Texas, and is based at Fort Myer, Va. “The group itself was formed to perform at military ceremonies and arrivals for presidents and heads of state in D.C.

“That’s where everything spins out of. We have a kind of presidential stateliness about us. Whether it’s the Olympics, televised events or the history, it all relates back to presidential stateliness.”

The Herald Trumpets were formed “kind of based on British fanfare ensembles,” said Baldwin, a University of Texas, Arlington, graduate who’s played in Army bands for 25 years. “That’s an ancient tradition there.”

The unit was named for Gen. John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, the late Army chief of staff who founded the overall U.S. Army band in 1922.

Baldwin, who “got into the Army as a trombone player” and still plays a “trombone-ranged trumpet,” said his experience has “allowed me to be part of a lot of events and history I normally wouldn’t have witnessed – like the Olympics and standing on the balcony of the (U.S.) Capitol building and the White House.”

The Herald Trumpets perform at major Washington events – including the White House, Pentagon, presidential inaugurations, visits by foreign heads of state and during burial ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery.

“It’s even hard to estimate,” Baldwin said of his group’s solemn duty at Arlington, the national military cemetery. “At least 10 (burials) a week for 25 years. That’s probably kind of a low average.

“Emotionally, it can be difficult, although everyone deals with it in their own way. You learn to distance yourself a little bit. We’re doing it for fallen heroes, though during the ceremony we’re quite a distance form the families. So we don’t have intimacy. We play standard chapel hymns and marches down to the grave site.”

Baldwin’s fifth presidential inaugural was the most memorable.

“It was spectacular,” Baldwin said of Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration. “By far it was the most exciting because of the vastness of the crowd.”

His fondest memory, so far, was playing during a White House dinner commemorating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in 1995.

“We performed as at least 100 heads of state arrived at the White House,” Baldwin said. “We were part of the ceremony. We were onstage playing the fanfares with all of these world leaders as our audience.”

Baldwin, instead of freelancing or pursuing a musical career, enlisted in the Army after college.

“I aspired to performing, and it provided me that opportunity,” said Baldwin, who still plays in wedding bands, a 10-piece swing band that appeared during an episode of NBC-TV’s “West Wing” and orchestras. “To get in, you had to audition. It was similar to auditioning for a symphony orchestra.”

Gross, 66, also spent a lot of time performing and conducting in Army groups – the California Army National Guard, 59th Army Band in Sacramento and the 91st Division U.S. Army Reserve Band at Camp Parks near Dublin.

A Bakersfield native and University of the Pacific graduate, he was Lodi High School’s band director in 1971-79, worked as a principal until 2000 and retired from the Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4.

Musically, nothing quite tops this, though.

“This is No. 1,” Gross said. “It’s just outrageous to get them to come to Lodi. It’s just wonderful. I had no idea it would actually happen.”

Source: The Stockton Record. Contact reproter Tony Sauro at (209) 546-8267 or tsauro@recordnet.com.

The Herald Trumpets are the official fanfare ensemble for the President of the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., they are part of “Pershing’s Own,” the United States Army Band that performs at historic international and national events, including Presidential inaugurations, to welcome visiting dignitaries such as the Queen of England and Pope, and at Olympic ceremonies. They regularly perform for the Kennedy Center Honors and the annual holiday celebrations “A Capitol Fourth,” “Christmas in Washington” and “The National Memorial Day Concert.”

Don’t Miss This “Once-in-a-Lifetime” Opportunity

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Lodi audiences to experience the Herald Trumpets in person.  The Herald Trumpets are truly a national treasure,” according to Lodi Community Band Director Robert E. Gross. “They simply do not perform on the West Coast, with rare exceptions.”  Indeed, the Herald Trumpets have not performed in California since they performed during President Ronald Reagan’s funeral in Southern California.

On Sunday, May 3, 2009, the Herald Trumpets will join the Lodi Community Band on stage in the Charlene Powers Lange Performing Arts Theatre at Hutchins Street Square for two concerts at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Lodi Community Band will also welcome the 40-piece 59th Army Band from Sacramento, the “Governor’s Own.” Each of the three groups will perform individually and en mass, placing a total of approximately 85 musicians on stage.

Tickets are $20.00 each and available now from the Hutchins Street Square Box Office, either online or by telephone: (209) 333-5550.

Meet Captain David Paroby, Director

Captain David Paroby serves as Director of the Herald Trumpets. Originally from Warminster, Pennsylvania, he previously served as Executive Officer and Associate Conductor of the United States Training and Doctrine Command Band based in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Captain Paroby holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and a Master of Arts degree in Music Education from Columbia University. He spent four years as a percussionist with the United States Marine Corps before securing a position with the U. S. Military Academy Band in West Point, New York, where he served as a featured percussion soloist and clinician.

He entered the U.S. Army Band Officer program in 2004 and was commissioned in December 2004 as an Officer Candidate School Distinguished Military Graduate. His military decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

Recently, Captain Paroby graciously spoke with the Lodi News-Sentinel about the upcoming concert:

Earlier this year, you played at the Inauguration of President Obama? Did you meet him?

We didn’t personally meet the President, but we were about six feet from the man.

What was your impression of President Obama?

I was impressed. He had a very professional demeanor — and the Herald Trumpets didn’t flinch.

How are the members of the ensemble selected?

The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets are one of the three special bands in the U.S. Army. The audition process is like that of a professional orchestra. You audition for the band, (and then are admitted) under a special contract. You’re only given duty here in the United States. You go through basic training and come directly to us. After three months, you’re promoted to Staff Sergeant.

Do members of the ensemble get paid?

Yes. We are actually paid by the U.S. Army. The entry level salary is $51,000 to $58,000 a year.

How often does the group travel?

Actually, because this year is our 50th anniversary, we’re traveling quite a bit.

How did the opportunity to perform in Lodi come up?

The director of the Lodi Community Band contacted us a year ago. Our schedule was not booked at that time.

How do you guys celebrate after a performance — with pizza and beer?

Because we do travel in a small group, we’ll go out for dinner or something like that.

Do you all get along? Are you pretty close-knit?

The group is interesting because of the different players. There are 14 herald trumpets and three percussionists. They’ve been together for many years. We were trying to count how many people in the Herald Trumpets are over 50, and we came up with two-thirds of the group. I’m not.

What do you do on a typical Saturday?

I would say I’m recovering from the ringing in my ears from rehearsing from the Herald Trumpets. It usually takes the weekend to recover.

Have you ever been to Lodi? Will you do anything else while you’re in town?

I haven’t been to Lodi. I was in the Marine Corps near San Diego, so I’m a little familiar with California. We’ll probably sample some cuisine while in town.

Where do you want to go from here? Is the Herald Trumpets the top?

After this assignment, I might get to conduct one of the other Army bands. I wouldn’t might coming back as the United States commander.

Who are your inspirations?

I am inspired by the professionalism and technical proficiency of all the people in the United States Army Band that I get to conduct on a daily basis.