richard_from_audience_croppedThe North Myrtle Beach Community Band provides three public concerts in a season that runs from mid-October to late May.  The organization also takes on special initiatives to support the community including performances for Coastal Carolina University’s Summer Music Academy, the dedication ceremony for War Bird Park at the site of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base and the band’s most recent initiative, a week-end band clinic for adult musicians.

 

band_tbThe band has attracted a loyal following and most concerts are attended by 450 to 750 persons. As well, the band has grown from an original membership of around 20 to a core group of about 55 players supplemented by 10 to 15 snowbird musicians who join the band during the winter months. Band members come from areas other than North Myrtle Beach including coastal communities from Shalotte to Murrell’s Inlet. Inland communities of Conway, Carolina Forest, Loris and Lumberton are also represented. The band’s age span is from 17 to 80+.  If you would like more information about joining the band you can do so here. The band rehearses at North Myrtle Beach High School and usually performs at the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center. The band has expanded beyond the community center in search of new audiences and has performed at Broadway AtThe Beach, McLean Park, Coastal Carolina University and for events in Conway and North Myrtle Beach.

 

hornsIn addition to law, engineering, education, graphic arts, retail sales, and medicine the band’s roster includes a number of players with undergraduate or advanced degrees in music. In the North Myrtle Beach Community Band everybody plays because of their love of making music together. It is common to see a music educator sitting beside a true amateur and both are enjoying making music together. Obviously, the band prides itself on the level of performance it has been able to achieve with a unique combination of persons with an amazingly different range of ages, training, backgrounds and interests.