I am amazed by the number of talented people we have in the local area.”Cullman Community Band Director Garry Taylor
CULLMAN — On Monday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Cullman High School auditorium, the Cullman Community Band will perform its annual Christmas Concert.
The concert, according to the band’s conductor Garry Taylor, will last less than an hour and is free to attend.
“We’ll start at 7 p.m. and we’ll be out of there well before 8 p.m.,” Taylor said.
Taylor, who has been the conductor of the community band since 2010 and involved with the group since its inception in 2005, said that the band provides something special for the Cullman community that nothing else does.
“The city does a great job, you know, with the Parks and Recreation department, keeping everyone active and (with) physical exercise,” Taylor said. “But we provide cultural exercise for the community.”
The community band is a traditional concert style band, meaning that the band does not do parades or anything outside of a concert venue. The band is made up of musicians from the Cullman community.
“I am amazed by the number of talented people we have in the local area,” Taylor said.
The ages of the band members range from 19-86 years old. “Or 87, he might be 87 by now,” Taylor said, half joking.
The goal of the Christmas concert is to provide an event for the community that is unique and free to experience. The musicians have as much fun playing as the audience does hearing them.
“This really gives these instrumental musicians an opportunity to show their abilities,” Taylor said.
The concert will be almost all Christmas music, with a small portion of the show being a medley of the band Chicago’s hits.
“We will also do a song from ‘The Nutcracker’ by Manheim Steamroller, as well as a couple Christmas classics arranged in a way to make them sound like they are something out of a spy movie or something,” Taylor said. “It is going to be a lot of fun, that’s for sure.”
The Cullman Community Band's season begins after Labor Day and ends in early June. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 6:30 — 8 p.m. in the Cullman Middle School band room. To join the band or for more information, contact conductor Garry Taylor at 256-636-2754 or garry54@bellsouth.net.
Visit facebook.com/CullmanCommunityBand to stay up-to-date on the band’s schedule.
