U-B photos by MATTHEW B. ZIMMERMAN A string bass keeps the beat as trumpets play during a rehearsal of the Walla Walla Valley jazz band after the regular band rehearsal last Tuesday night at Walla Walla Community College.

The Walla Walla Valley Bands has a lot to celebrate. In addition to receiving a prestigious educational grant and increasing the size of the group, the organization is hosting a 20th anniversary “Greatest Hits” concert 3 p.m. Sunday at the Walla Walla Community College Health Sciences and Performing Arts Auditorium.

The event will feature a clarinet choir, jazz ensemble and concert band playing favorite pieces from the last 20 years, most of which were selected by audience and band members in an online poll. During the intermission, the band will host a birthday celebration with designer cupcakes, scrapbooks and toasts commemorating 20 years of performances in the Valley.

The band has progressed significantly since its inception, but the group’s most inspiring and enduring legacy will be the inclusive and welcoming embrace they offer to all their musicians. The band comprises a colorful group of characters with a wide range of skills, experience, education and age. Ron McHenry, director of the Walla Walla Valley Bands since 2001, stressed the importance of acceptance and diversity in the organization.

“We’re one of the few performing groups in the area that doesn’t hold auditions,” he said. “The only requirement is that you have played an instrument before. Some musicians might not have played for 10 years, but we don’t ever want to turn someone away because they feel they’re not good enough to perform.”

This open-door policy is a significant part of the Band’s mission, which McHenry said “provides an opportunity for instrumental musicians to participate in community activities and enhance their musical skills and knowledge.” The group may be a non-auditioned ensemble, but you would never guess it from the skill the band members exude.

The age difference between the musicians is noticeable. Many of the teenage performers share music stands with members old enough to be their grandparents.

“I guess the thing that really speaks to the age diversity,” McHenry said, “is that music is kind of ageless.”

The band possesses a tangible family atmosphere, and the group is full of friends, colleagues and couples.

John and Linda Huber are one of those couples. They both play clarinet in the band, and they also perform in the recently formed clarinet choir. John, the de facto leader of the small woodwind ensemble, expressed the simple reason for his involvement. “I love to play clarinet,” he said heartily, “and so do the rest of these people or they wouldn’t be here.”

John clearly enjoys performing with the smaller group of clarinets and was eager to share the best part: “No trombones or trumpets!” When asked to recall his favorite moment in his time with the band, Linda kindly replied for him: “Meeting his wife!” John has been a regular performer in the band for 19 years. In that time the group has seen a lot of changes.

The band was formed in 1989 as the Walla Walla Community Band. It was led by Mark Marty and Larry Pfefferle. As time passed, the group was able to accommodate an increase in membership, the addition of chamber groups, a reintroduction of the jazz ensemble and a permanent move to Walla Walla Community College.

McHenry, a graduate of Eastern Washington University, directed a rebranding effort in 2006 and was responsible for the organization’s change of name. “We wanted to reflect more of a regional nature and the fact that it wasn’t just Walla Walla that we serve,” McHenry said. “We have members from Hermiston and Pendleton, Milton-Freewater, College Place and Touchet.”

Under McHenry’s leadership, the band has been able to reach out to the community and increase support for the arts and music education.

“There’s not another community like this one,” McHenry said. “The support for the arts is top notch; it really is a great community to be in if you’re any kind of musician or lover of music.”

McHenry is thrilled that the band is continuing to grow — both on a geographic and individual level.

“It really speaks volumes that as we embrace new people, we’ve gotten bigger,” he said. “We’ve grown from about 35 members to about 60 now, with an average roster of 75 a year.”

Twenty years ago may seem like yesterday for some members of the band, but to one musician, it is seven years longer than he has been alive. Thirteen-year-old percussionist Ian Summerfield, who commutes from Pendleton to perform with the band. Summerfield enjoys playing in the band, because it challenges him beyond what he traditionally plays in his middle school music program and because of the kindness other members have shown.

“Everyone’s been really friendly and made me feel very welcome,” Summerfield said. “It’s like a big family. It already feels like I’ve been here for a really long time.”

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