81. Combining Forces

Our annual New Hampshire New Horizons Bands combined concert

Hi friends,

On Saturday we combined four New Hampshire-based New Horizons Bands for our annual combined concert. Each band has a membership of 20-40 musicians, and this event gives everyone an opportunity to play in a very large concert band with more than 80 performers. It is incredibly special for all involved.

The four bands - based in the Lakes Region, Concord, Monadnock, and Portsmouth - have been rehearsing the repertoire for this concert for the past two months. On the big day, we combine everyone to rehearse and perform the music together for the first and only time. This year was particularly special because we were snowed out last year, so it had been two years since our last concert together.

Between the four bands we have six conductors and each conductor chose a piece to lead for the combined concert. The program was varied, with a Sousa march, concert pieces, and pops music. I conducted the theme song from the Disney Pixar movie The Incredibles and it was…incredible! So much fun for everyone involved.

The day is special on many levels. Musically, everyone rises to the occasion and the large band makes incredible music together. Socially, we get to meet new people and share in camaraderie as we achieve the culmination of months of work. There was lots of excitement, laughter, and joy. Smiles on everyone’s faces all day long.

When we come together and combine forces, it inspires us to keep making music. It shows us just how far we have come as artists. And it reinforces our belief that we are better when we come together in a unified effort.

Here’s video of the first piece from the concert. I’ll work to upload a few more soon. Ginna Macdonald, assistant conductor of the Portsmouth New Horizons Band, leads the ensemble in John Philip Sousa’s The Liberty Bell March.

We began this journey more than a decade ago when Mary Divers, former director of the Lakes Region Band, reached out to me about combining for a performance. The photo below is of Mary conducting her band more than ten years ago at one of our combined events in Portsmouth. In the early days it was just the two bands and we would play for each other before combining to play a couple of pieces together. These days we combine the groups for the full day and it has a true festival feel.

Below is a video of Mary conducting a march during the morning rehearsal that same year.

I look forward to this event every year. We plan to host in Portsmouth in 2026 and if you are in the area, you should come hear the concert. It’s amazing what we can do when we work together. For some reason, that message seems more important now than ever.

Special thanks to all of the musicians from this past weekend. You presented a wonderful, musical, joyful performance.

Bravo!

~Russ