The Akron Steel Band will present a holiday concert during the Kenmore Branch Library’s Holiday Open House, December 5, 4-5 p.m., at 969 Kenmore Blvd., Kenmore. Concert goers can expect a mix of holiday tunes and timeless favorites during the show, which is part of Kenmore’s annual Light the Boulevard event.
“Silent Night,” “O Christmas Tree,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Carol of the Bells” and other seasonal hits will fuse with the band’s set-list standards including “Soca Feet,” “Disturbia,” “I Gotta Feeling” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Music teacher Melanie Reymond says the annual event draws band members new and old, including alumni, who are expected to join the band’s current 24 members for the concert.
“The students have been excitedly preparing music since the beginning of the school year. There are a lot of fresh faces in the group this year and the veteran members have been incredibly supportive and helpful with the new members,” Reymond says.
Among the band’s newest members, freshman Jonah Murphy says he is passionate about playing bass steel drums and adding them to his repertoire, which also includes electric guitar.
Fellow electric guitarist Kimberly Gionest-Clark is also a first-year member of the band. “I have always been into music so when I heard they had a band, I just jumped on it,” says the new pannist.
Reymond says the band members are growing as a group.
“Students at all levels, but particularly the sophomores, have found a shared excitement for playing in an ensemble,” she says. “They have learned how to work through challenges as a team, which will translate to all other aspects of their lives. This is why music and are arts are so vital in education.”
Reymond adds that the young musicians have infectious enthusiasm and she is honored to teach them and to encourage them to share their talents with the community through events such as the Kenmore concert.