The Hilton-Parma Gazebo Band, under the direction of Dr. Charles P. Schmidt, will begin its 36th season with a concert on Wednesday, June 19, at the Hilton Village Community Center adjacent to Centennial Park. The Gazebo Band’s series of free public concerts in Hilton will be held on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (indoors in case of rain) on the following dates: June 19, June 26, July 3, July 10, July 17, July 24 and July 31. The annual patriotic concert in Hilton will be presented on Wednesday, July 3. On Wednesday, July 10, the band will perform at St. Paul Lutheran Church on East Avenue in Hilton. The concert will be at 7 p.m. in the church sanctuary. The public is invited to bring lawn chairs to enjoy concerts at the Village Community Center.
The band’s summer concerts will feature a variety of musical styles, including traditional marches, light classics, popular music, Broadway and movie themes, patriotic music, as well as solo features. Works by Eric Coates, Caesar Giovannini, George Gershwin, Clare Grundman, Brent Heisinger, Pierre La Plant, Lerner and Loewe, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Sammy Nestico, Rodgers and Hart, John Phillip Sousa, Dmitri Shostakovich, Meredith Willson, among others, will be performed.
The Gazebo Band was founded in 1984 and was first directed by Hilton Music Educator, Gordon Bascom. The original group of approximately a dozen players performed for the Village of Hilton Centennial celebration and a larger group performed for the dedication of the Gazebo at Centennial Park. The band’s current conductor, Dr. Charles Schmidt, is in his tenth year of directing the band. Mary Reazor, the last remaining charter member of the band, functions as the band’s manager, music librarian, and lead trombonist.
The Gazebo Band is an all-volunteer organization that relies primarily on donations from the community. The band is comprised of many dedicated musicians from across Monroe and Orleans counties, who rehearse from March 1 through July in order to make the free summer concerts possible. In recent years, the band has expanded its schedule to include a fall rehearsal season and holiday concerts. From its beginning, the band’s primary purpose has been to give area adult musicians a place to enjoy their musical gifts and at the same time share them with the broader community.
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