Hot Springs Concert Band named Whittington Valley's organization of the year

Earlier this week the Whittington Valley Neighborhood Association presented its organization of the year award to the Hot Springs Concert Band.

"Our members voted late last year to recognize the Concert Band for its efforts to promote and bring visitors to our neighborhood," explained Association president Mark Toth. "The Hot Springs Concert Band has been a fixture in the Whittington Valley for many years, drawing thousands of concert-goers to the Valley and exposing people to the natural beauty and historic character of our neighborhood."

During the summer, the Concert Band performs free concerts under the shaded canopy of the trees of Whittington Federal Park, bringing an enthusiastic and diverse group of music-lovers to the Valley. In 2011, the band presented an expanded summer concert series, scheduling performances every two weeks and drawing as many as 1,000 people to its concerts. Although the hotter than normal weather this past summer meant three of the band concerts had to be moved indoors to National Park Community College, the band nevertheless performed multiple times in the Whittington Valley, book-ended with its ever popular Labor Day and Memorial Day concerts.

In receiving the award, Charles Gilmore, president of the band's board of directors, and Nora Cole, board vice president, told of the band's early origins, tracing its musical heritage to 1975 when twenty local citizens formed the "CSO Senior Citizens Band" under the direction of John Melton, a retired Indiana high school band director. Over time more and younger members joined, and in 2005 the band adopted its current moniker to better reflect its expanded repertoire, membership and role in the musical life of Hot Springs and the surrounding area.

With a very active schedule of nearly twenty performances yearly, the Hot Springs Concert Band offers something for all tastes. Musical selections vary from lighter fare performed during the band's summer park series in Whittington Valley to more serious musical works performed during the Winter season. to present this wide range of styles, the band draws upon a talented pool made up of more than 85 area musicians. Currently the band's members range in age from teenagers to octogenarians. This diversity affords the band a broad breadth of energy and experience ranging from eager amateurs to currently working or former professional musicians and educators.

The neighborhood association's annual award recognizes those people and organizations that have improved the quality of life in the Whittington Valley for both residents and visitors alike. The honor includes a cash award funded by dues paid by the association's members. In presenting its award, the neighborhood association also praised the band's efforts to expand musical education and musical appreciation in the Hot Springs community. This past year the Concert Band awarded three scholarships to area high school music students. the band also recognized three other students with honorable mentions. "This scholarship program is one of the ways we seek to impact young musicians in our community and further the community band experience in our culture and society," band president Charles Gilmore explained.

"When you learn all that the band does, not just performing but also in terms of music education and appreciation, it is clear it is an outstanding organization that works hard to benefit the entire Hot Springs community," said John Lewis, neighborhood association vice president.

Next up for the Hot Springs Concert Band is Jessieville School's Band Blast on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. in the school sports arena. For more information contact Charles Gilmore at 984-1678.