The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe has donated $25,000 to the Sequim City Band’s capital campaign to expand its current rehearsal hall.
The band is at 94 percent of its goal, which was designed in 2005 as a storage room for the band’s extensive music library and percussion equipment, according to a press release. It also served as the rehearsal space for the band, even though it could comfortably accommodate only 35 musicians.
“The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is honored to contribute $25,000 to this very important Sequim project,” Tribal Chairman Ron Allen said in the press release. “Our tribe values and supports events and programs that reflect our community’s unique cultural treasures and artistic expressions.”
In addition to a rehearsal space for the band, which has at least 60 members, the Sequim Community Orchestra is in need of the expanded space. Part of the band’s mission is to promote musical performance. Both the current rehearsal room and the planned expanded hall will be used by the Strings Kids Music Education Program, which fills a need for Sequim youth who wish to learn to play the violin, viola and cello. The program is necessary because stringed instrument education is not provided by the Sequim School District.
As the students mature, they can gain more experience playing in an ensemble by joining the Sequim Community Orchestra, which sponsors the Sequim Strings Kid Program, according to the release.
The Sequim City Band also supports young musicians by welcoming high school wind instrument and percussion players to join the band for rehearsals and performances.
Current band members come from Sequim, Port Angeles, Carlsborg, Forks, Port Townsend Port Hadlock and Poulsbo.
The expanded rehearsal hall is designed with 20-foot ceilings and acoustical enhancements to protect the musicians’ hearing, increased air exchange, which is particularly important to reduce any respiratory viruses and other air-transmitted diseases, and air conditioning, a feature that is absent in the current rehearsal/storage room.
The band will continue to reach out to regional businesses and individuals to complete its capital campaign.
Several small ensembles from the band have been performing seasonal music at the 7 Cedars Hotel during its Festival of Lights. The groups performing include a brass quintet, clarinet quartet, saxophone trio, flute duo and saxophone duo.
Guests of the hotel and casino have enjoyed the live entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the lobby of the hotel.
In the coming year, the band is planning to sponsor a complete summer program — the 2022 Concerts at The James outdoor series is tentatively planned as six concerts from April through September, with hopes for the annual Patriotic Fourth of July musical celebration.
For the early part of the season, the band is searching for a rehearsal space large enough to accommodate the entire number of musicians. As the weather warms, the band will be able to rehearse on the outdoor stage.
For more information about the band and its building project, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sequim.city.band or www.sequimcityband.org.
