Senseney Community Band, a home for amateurs who want to play, returns for holiday shows

The Senseney Music Community Band is back together after an 18-month hiatus — just in time to end the band’s 35th anniversary year with its traditional Christmas season concerts.

The band’s final free holiday concert happens at 7 p.m. Sunday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Andover.

For band founder and musical director Bill Johnson, the band turnout this year after it had been on hiatus due to the pandemic was just as astonishing as when he first advertised the band was forming back in April 1987.

In both instances, Johnson had expected about two dozen musicians to show up. At the band’s very first rehearsal in 1987, more than 100 people showed up.

When rehearsals resumed in early November, 85 members showed up to prepare for the band’s three-concert Christmas season. They ranged from an eighth grader to an octogenarian, with some new members and some returning after having been on hiatus well before COVID.

“I was amazed,” Johnson said, as that November rehearsal gave him a sense of deja vu. He started the rehearsal by apologizing for having picked an easy lineup in anticipation of a low musician turnout.

“I told them, ‘I wasn’t expecting all of you to walk through the door,” he said.

While the music might not be as challenging as in past seasons, Johnson said the band is still delivering a fun and joyous 45-minute or so concert to give both musicians and audience members “a break from all the bad stuff.”

The music apparently has achieved its mark, as the band has received lots of great feedback, including standing ovations at the two concerts earlier this month. The Dec. 2 and Dec 5 concerts drew more than 400 and 150 audience members, respectively, with the last concert’s smaller number being the result of playing in a smaller facility, Pleasant Valley Methodist Church. The band had opened in the much larger St. Peter’s Catholic Church.

The band traditionally plays two-concert seasons, with the first running from April to July and the second happening during the Christmas season. Rehearsals for the spring 2020 season were about to get underway when COVID hit. The band subsequently canceled its Christmas 2020 and spring 2021 seasons.

The timing of the band’s first season of the year is a holdout from when the band started in Senseney Music’s previous location in the old Sunset Theatre at Harry and Lulu. There was no heating or AC where the band practiced, so that limited its rehearsal season. Johnson recalled. When it rehearsed for its holiday concerts, space heaters were used.

After growing into a recognized regional music store, Senseney Music moved to its more spacious location at 2300 E. Lincoln in 1996; the band practices in the lower level. Senseney Music was founded in 1978 by Denny Senseney, a former music teacher in Wellington. At the time, Senseney tried recruiting Johnson, then a music teacher at Cheney, to join him in his music store business. Johnson initially declined, but seven years later when he was ready for a career change, he joined the store, where he worked for the next 30 years.

The community band formed in 1987 at the suggestion of the store’s husband-wife instrument repair team. Johnson, the vice president for the store’s band and orchestra division, loved the idea of creating an outlet for amateur players in the community who perhaps had played an instrument in school and wanted to pick it back up or for those who were looking for performance opportunities. Senseney, the owner, liked the idea well enough to join the band himself as a tuba player.

The store has since changed ownership, and although retired from the store, Johnson remains at the helm of the community band as its musical director. He is joined by associate directors as well. Johnson is also director of two of the five semi-pro ensembles that are part of the Delano Chamber Players.

The Senseney Music Community Band’s only purpose, Johnson said, is to provide a performance opportunity for amateur players. On average, each band season draws about 70 to 75 members, with a core group of about 50 to 60 participating in both seasons. Members range from blue-collar workers to music teachers to stay-at-home moms to medical and engineering professionals.

There are no fees or auditions to join.

“When you come in, we’ll ask you about your playing background and find you a place to sit,” Johnson said. If needed, they may recommend a few lessons for those who need to brush up on their skills.

Johnson encourages anyone 16 years or older who is interested in joining or getting more information about the Senseney Music Community Band to contact him at billj@senseneymusic.com.

He also warned that music isn’t the only sound one will hear at rehearsals.

“We’re also a very social group. Sometimes it gets so noisy because we’re busy visiting,” Johnson said with a laugh.

Senseney Music Community Band holiday concert

When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12

Where: St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 123. N. Andover Road, Andover

Admission: Free