The members of the Allan Hancock College Concert Band are many—the ensemble numbers 75 strong—and they hail from varied backgrounds and tenures with the band.
Some are Hancock students fresh out of high school, explained band director Greg Stoll, but others are local professionals or retirees who have been performing with the ensemble for decades.
“We have a couple of people that have been with the band for 30 years, two people that come to mind are one of our oboe players, Patti Lynn, and her husband Thomas Lynn,” Stoll said. “Herb Adams is another, he’s a French horn player who’s been with the band over 30 years. And we have the former band director that I took over for eight years ago—he was director for 33 years—and his name is Gary Thompson; he plays tuba.”
This staying power means a strong core that keeps the band motivated and excited for performances.
The Hancock Concert Band’s next show is March 11 and will feature a range of pieces, from classical to contemporary works, explained Stoll. That variety is something the band members, and its loyal local audience, look forward to. It’s also a vital teaching tool, he said.
“If we didn’t enjoy doing it, then it would be hard work,” Stoll said. “We have a lot of people in the group that like all sorts of different kinds of music.
“We also have about 18 college kids with us that come to us after they’ve played in their high school bands, and they need to be exposed to some of the band classics so that they can be able to do any type of music that they wish,” he added.
The program will include well-known pieces like Rossini’s “William Tell Overture,” as well as a Gustav Holtz suite, which is more known in concert band circles, Stoll said. Programming classical music is part of making sure the younger students are well rounded, Stoll said.
The younger students also enjoy some valuable mentorship in the ensemble, Stoll explained, which prepares them for music major programs at other schools as well as a lifetime of music making.
“We help each other out,” Stoll said. “We have section leaders who help the people and their sections. It really is, we kind of look at ourselves as a family band.”
That family feel isn’t all figurative, Stoll explained. His own father, Forest Stoll, is in the band as well. The 95-year-old is a clear voice in the trumpet section of the Hancock Concert Band.
Also, Thomas and Patti Lynn’s daughter, Gena Laird, plays in the band too. It truly is a family affair.
And to perform a program like the one scheduled on March 11, the band can’t just be close, it must be skilled as well, Stoll explained.
“They have to be accomplished on their instrument to pull this off, and I’m always amazed because they do always pull it off,” he said. “I keep challenging them, and they keep rising to the occasion.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne wishes he stuck with the trumpet. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 9-16, 2017.