For eight hours Saturday afternoon, Greenwood will be the epicenter of community music in the state of Indiana.
Volunteer musicians, performing simply for the love of music, will come together in a cacophony of woodwinds, brass, sting instruments and percussion. Their song selections will range from swingin’ big band to time-honored Broadway classics and everything in between.
Concerts in the Park brings together eight groups and more than 400 musicians for a free festival of community band music. Participants include six community bands, some coming from as far away as Terre Haute and Madison, to perform. In addition, the Crossroads Brass Band, one of Indiana’s only brass-focused music groups, is scheduled to play, along with the Starlighters Big Band.
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The groups will perform a variety of songs from their repertoires, one playing right after another, to provide a wide range of styles and sounds for music fans of all kinds.
“It’s really just an opportunity for people to share music. There are a lot of community bands in Indiana, probably more than people are aware, so it gives the musicians an opportunity to share, audiences the chance to hear other groups, and provides a good outdoors performance venue,” said Randy Greenwell, director of the Greater Greenwood Community Band. “It’s all part of a communal music-making day.”
Concerts in the Park is hosted and organized by the Greater Greenwood Community Band, which has brought volunteer musicians together to perform for more than 25 years.
Whereas most of the band’s concerts feature themselves solely, the group has also participated in more multi-band events throughout the year. After having success at community band festivals in the past, organizers founded their own event in Greenwood in 2014.
This year, the festival has a new name, going from the Greenwood Concert Band Festival to Concerts in the Park.
“We wanted to steer it away from being called a festival, because the impression was that festival implied some sort of contest or something like that,” Greenwell said.
But the format and the expansive selection of music will be the same. Bands will play at the top of every hour, starting at noon and wrapping up just before 8 p.m.
“It’s fun. This is a great opportunity to show these other bands what the Greenwood community has to offer in terms of supporting the arts, and gives them a chance to see what else is out there,” Greenwell said.
Organizers have lined up refreshments, including hot food from the grill. Free shuttles are planned to transport guests and performers between the Surina Square Amphitheater and nearby parking lots.
With the potential for rain capable of dampening any summer Indiana event, organizers have reserved the Greenwood Community Center next to the amphitheater in case of poor weather.
Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged, and pets on leashes are welcome.
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Concerts in the Park
What: A festival of community and regional bands performing a day-long concert
When: Noon to 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Greenwood Amphitheater, 100 Surina Way
Host: Greater Greenwood Community Band
Admission: Free
Schedule
- Noon: Indianapolis Symphonic Band
- 1 p.m.: Crossroads Brass Band
- 2 p.m.: Starlighters Big Band
- 3 p.m.: Hamilton County Community Band
- 4 p.m.: Terre Haute Community Band
- 5 p.m.: Madison Community Band
- 6 p.m.: Bloomington Community Band
- 7 p.m.: Greater Greenwood Community Band
Information: greenwoodband.org
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