Ferndale Community Concert Band Gears Up for Anniversary Concert at Orchestra Hall in Detroit
(Charlie Haviland, March 20, 2025)
Ferndale, MI – As the Ferndale Community Concert Band (FCCB) prepares to open its tenth season on Sunday, March 30 at the world renowned Orchestra Hall in Detroit, the cohort of about 80 musicians can be forgiven for feeling a tad giddy about taking that stage on Woodward Avenue where the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Aretha Franklin and Sirs Paul McCartney and Elton John once performed.
The concert is free and open to the public. The FCCB will be joined by guest soloist euphoniumist Dr. Robert Benton who will perform Migration Concerto by Ian Lester.
“When we announced that we’d be performing at Orchestra Hall,” said FCCB president Sharon Chess, “there were yelps and tears and applause.” None of the musicians this week admitted to nerves but before rehearsal at Ferndale High School conductor Ed Quick assuaged any collective stage fright by addressing the band. “I’m very at ease with our upcoming concert. I hope you are too.”
So, while the FCCB opens its tenth season on a famous stage, it safe to say the FCCB almost didn’t happen.
In 2014, the Ferndale Arts & Cultural Commission surveyed residents as to what more was desired in the community: performance art, or music. After music won out, the next survey asked if residents wanted an orchestra or a concert band. A “concert band” differs from an “orchestra” in that brass, woodwinds, and percussion comprise the former while strings are added to comprise the latter. With just one vote making the difference, in February 2015, the Ferndale Community Concert Band was formed.
Starting a new organization can be a daunting process, but Chess said 105 musicians initially signed up to play but after “we announced a time and date, many weeded themselves out and sixty-five showed up at the first rehearsal.” Now they are up to about 80. Ferndale Community Concert Band has musicians from all walks of life , with a mix of professionals and amateurs, from as young as high school age to those who are senior citizens. According to Chess, about a third of the members play professionally outside of the group. She credits Quick with bringing everyone together.
“We got lucky when Ed agreed to conduct,” said Chess “and at our first rehearsal Ed asked the musicians to simply start by playing scales. The (Ferndale) high school music director came into the room and we all could not believe our ears. This was a band. And this was a band that sounded like it had been playing with each other for years.”
Conductor Quick, also a clarinetist who has shared the stage with the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Chick Corea, treats the band with the respect as if it’s a world class symphony. “Trust the notes that are there,” he told the musicians during a recent rehersal. “There may be some sounds that seem unusual, but trust the notes that are there.”
Concerts are typically performed at Ferndale High School. Chess and the band members hope people will come to Orchestra Hall for their big performance.
“These musicians have heart,” said Chess, “and they’re playing that way. We are really good. But, with that aside the concert is free. If nothing else, you get to see the inside of Orchestra hall for free!”
Tim Brennan, FCCB co-founder and French horn player, will conduct Migration Concerto by Ian Lester featuring soloist Dr. Robert Benton. During rehearsal this week, Brennan asked the band if anyone had not played with a soloist before. None of the eighty musicians raised their hand. “No worries,” said Brennan. “There’s a first time for everything. This is my first time conducting with a soloist.”
There’s a Mardi Gras feeling at the rehearsal studio at FCCB home base Ferndale High School where Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Spinners were founded more than seventy years ago. And conductor Ed Quick epitomized that energy after hearing a few bars of Caribana Afterparty, a soca and calypso composition, when he implored his musicians, “Pretend you’re on holiday. Play it like that.”
The anniversary show promises a mix of music as eclectic as the generations and styles of the musicians in the band.
The performance takes place at 3pm on Sunday, March 30 at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Avenue in Detroit. The performance is free, but donations are appreciated.
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Note: This story has been updated from the original version to clarify the composition of band members.
