Patch Talk: With Eastern Hillsborough Community Band Flutist

Sandy Townsend of Valrico is a strong proponent of the Eastern Hillsborough Community Band, a group she said she joined to stay in tune with her passion for the arts, music, the flute and the overall concert band experience.

Hours before she was set to play with the band at in Brandon, Townsend took some time to discuss the group’s mission to attract more members to the band. On its Website, the band’s mission is spelled out in greater detail: “To provide an opportunity for musicians of all ages and skill levels to perform with a concert band and to foster the development of musicians who wish to make a cultural contribution to their community.”

The all-volunteer band practices Thursday nights at in Brandon and interested musicians are asked to contact the group for details.

We asked Townsend to talk about the band, her passion and her hopes for the group’s future.

BRANDON PATCH: When did the band start?

• TOWNSEND: We formed two years ago. When we formed, it was a very small group of people. We had fewer than 10 people. In two years we’ve grown to about 50 active members. For a time we were adding new people every week and we still grow all the time.

BRANDON PATCH: How big do you want the band to get?

• TOWNSEND: As big as we can and still have a balanced band. It’s a community band and we just want as many people to participate as we can get.

BRANDON PATCH: Tell me about how the band initially came together.

• TOWNSEND: There was a young lady in Plant City, named Kim McCullers, who put an ad out in the newspaper for a band she was forming in Plant City. I and some other people responded and we started practicing in a small church in Plant City.  We outgrew the church and were able to practice in a larger church in Lithia, Grace Community United Methodist. Then, Music Showcase asked us if we wanted to start practicing there and we’ve been practicing there, which is a great musical environment.

BRANDON PATCH: What instrument do you play?

• TOWNSEND: I play the flute. I started playing it probably in elementary or middle school. After high school I didn’t play for quite awhile. I started again in 1993, when we moved to Germany. My husband was in the military and I was in a community band in the military base there. When I moved here I always  thought this area needed a community band. When I saw someone was trying to start one, I joined.

BRANDON PATCH: Why did you pick the flute?

• TOWNSEND: I originally looked at the clarinet but the dentist said it would give me buck teeth, so I chose the flute.

BRANDON PATCH: Why is the band important?

• TOWNSEND: The arts can contribute so much to the community and there are a lot of people who have played [instruments] in the past, maybe in high school or college or professionally, and this gives them another opportunity to play, to perform. It just adds a new dimension to your life in the community that’s kind of missing. You see a lot of the other arts in the community, like visual arts and theater, but there really wasn’t a community band.

BRANDON PATCH: So, who’s in the band?

• TOWNSEND: We have some professionals, who are extremely good professional musicians, but then we have people, like myself, who played in high school and would like to play again and find it incredibly awesome to be in a band with professional musicians. Some of our members are professors, some of them are doctors. We have a dentist. We had a lawyer. We have a lot of people who were in military bands. We have some music educators from the school system. Just all different kinds of people. An accountant, some people who are retired. We have college students, we  have a  high school student. It’s a fantastic opportunity for people all around. The younger people tend to look up to the professionals and the professionals tend to look after the younger people and the less-experienced [musicians].

BRANDON PATCH: Why should the community listen to the Eastern Hillsborough Community Band play?

• TOWNSEND: The music’s good, for one. We have some pretty good arrangements. And it’s more like popular music. Today (May 28), it’s swinging jazz. Before that we did show tunes.

BRANDON PATCH: Who directs the band?

• TOWNSEND: We have two directors. The primary director is John Sinibaldi. Shannon Holland is a director as well.

BRANDON PATCH: In closing, why did  you join the band?

• TOWNSEND: I’ve gotten to know a whole new group of people I wouldn’t have otherwise met. And it’s nice to do something for the community.