美国国家公共电台 NPR--Community bands are back after being battered by the pandemic

Community bands are back after being battered¹ by the pandemic

Transcript²

Community bands date back to the American Revolution. The Association of Concert Bands estimates that there are more than 1,000 of them around the country. Several have been playing since the 19th Century, including The Allentown Band in Pennsylvania, which began in 1828. The pandemic has battered these amateur bands but they're getting back to performing, especially after Labor³ Day.

The Metropolitan⁴ Atlanta Community Band, a predominantly African-American band, is gearing up for a concert in November, its first in more than two and a half years.

Every one of its performances opens with "Freedom Fanfare," a 68-second piece originally arranged in 1971 for a college football team that incorporates the melodies of "The Battle Hymn⁵ of the Republic," "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and the gospel song "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."

"When I first joined the band, I noticed a genuine love for each other, they just like to hang out with each other and that culture is established," said Allen Ward⁶, the band's associate director. "People who play in community bands, for the most part, they don't leave. We have at least eight to 10 members who's been in the band since its inception⁷ [26 years ago]."

The pandemic has not only halted many of the community bands' indoor concerts but also taken away their rehearsal⁸ spaces. To cope with this new reality the Atlanta band staged outdoor performances with seven-piece combos. The Allentown Band recorded the concerts it usually performs before a live audience of students in a local symphony hall and posted the recordings⁹ online.

Another challenge was getting band members to practice on their own.

"The physical skills needed to play an instrument develop slowly but deteriorate¹⁰ rapidly," said Chuck Van Buren, conductor of the Perinton Concert Band near Rochester, N.Y. "And not having a goal, such as being prepared for rehearsal, or looking forward to a concert, made it difficult for them to keep up a practice regimen. And frankly¹¹, some of our older members began to wonder if this was going to be the end of their playing career. Would they ever get back when we finally resume? Would they be too old? Would they lose interest?"

To limit their possible exposure to COVID, older band members have tended to be more cautious about returning to the bandstand than their younger peers. But for these elderly musicians, community bands have been a lifeline.

"Making music helps older people keep sharp," said Diane Hawkins-Cox, CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Community Band. "It's important for older people to maintain connections with other people. And I think community bands are an important outlet¹² for that."

More than one musician NPR spoke¹³ with said that three generations of their family had played in community bands. Trombone player Ezra Wenner has been in the Allentown Band for more than three generations.

Wenner joined the band 80 years ago after being recruited by his high school band director, Albertus Meyers, who also served as the Allentown Band's conductor. Meyers was a coronet player who was a featured soloist¹⁴ in John Phillips Sousa's band. At one point there were at least 19 members of the Allentown Band that had played in the Sousa band.

"When I first joined the band, the majority of our concerts were Sunday school picnics," said Wenner, who is now 95 and still playing. "Today we're playing Carnegie Hall. We're playing Kennedy Center. We did three or four European tours."

Meyers conducted the Allentown Band for 50 years. The current conductor, Ronald Demkee, has held the baton¹⁵ for 45 years. He stands for election every year.

Demkee realizes the turn-out for performances has been declining over the years.

"We still have pretty good audiences in numbers and they're certainly enthusiastic. But when I was in the band, it was not uncommon¹⁶ for us to have 1,500 or 2,000 people in the audience. We just don't see that [kind of turn out anymore] and I think that may be true around the country, actually," said Demkee.

That's certainly the case with the Callicoon Center Band, which has been performing in a small Catskill Mountain town in New York since 1934. Its band membership and audience have been declining, especially during the pandemic.

Town Band, a new documentary, chronicles the band's commitment to keep going. The film's director, Alice Elliott, has been attending concerts for 40 years.

"The bandstand sits empty for six days and then all of a sudden for an hour at night, it becomes this place of entertainment, of community of, intergenerational mixing," said Elliott. "The idea that music and the arts can create community is extremely powerful."

"If bands didn't play this kind of music, the songs would be lost because they're not played on the radio, they're not taught in music schools. So, these bands are doing a service reminding us of historical American music, trends in American music, music that's been brought over by people all over the world."

1 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

5 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

8 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

9 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

10 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

12 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

15 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

16 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。