Serendipity

Random examples of the benefits of nurturing a range of contacts and following up even weak leads, from my 17-plus years of managing our Salt River Brass Band, from its inception:

Some 18 months after our first rehearsal, when we were mostly doing concerts in various parks, I noticed an article on the upcoming opening of the fancy new Chandler Center or the Arts, seating some 1500.  Not thinking I’d get anywhere, I found a phone number for the hall and, to my surprise, found myself pitching the general manager on, could we ever play a brass band concert in his hall. More surprising, James called me a Godsend.  Seems a week long grand opening was  planned, with several high profile touring acts booked.  Unfortunately, construction ran several weeks over. No-one could re-schedule. And he had a deadline.

My start-up brass band was the Center’s grand opening.

We performed at the Chandler Center for another 18 years, doing a full six concert season and a free Forth of July, often to capacity crowds. We built audience alongside the new hall, always careful to price our tickets at the low end of the Center’s offerings, so as to pull new audience into the hall. We collaborated with the Center any way we could, providing free concerts when asked, smaller ensembles for fundraising events and art galley openings; the hall helped us with promotion, finding sponsors to cover hall costs (as for our free Forth of July concerts) and providing introductions.  I rather suspect James took me under his wing as something of a mentor; I was pretty green. To The Chandler center we owe much of the credit for our success.

Again, we joined the North American Brass Band Association at our inception, when we had barely a dollar to our name. ( As a matter of policy, we did not accept donations; we survived on ticket sales and contracted gigs – earned income only). We joined for the contacts, to be accessible to touring soloists or bandsmen moving into our area, and for a read on what other bands were doing.  Unexpectedly, I saw an ad the NABBA’s newsletter offering for sale (at a great price) the 2,000 piece music library of the Buffalo Silver Cornet Band, around since 1915 and, reputedly, the oldest brass band in the country. They in turn had bought the library of a 19th century band in the English Midlands.  We thus acquired wonderful music going back to the 1870s, much of it not available to any other band in the US. Wouldn’t have that music available without the NABBA membership.

Finally, listening to KONC, our then classical music radio station, I heard a broadcast of Gustav Holst’s “Mooreside Suite”. The Program Director, Sterling Beeaff, announced it as performed by the Dallas Wind Ensemble, with no other information provided.  On a whim, I called Sterling at the station and mentioned that he’s programmed an arrangement of a brass band piece, commissioned as a test for the 1928 British national brass band contest, and that I could find him a recording of the Holst in the original.  Conversation led to lunch; I donated a few brass band CDs to the station, got Sterling hooked on brass band music (much classical and operatic music has been transcribed for brass band), and we started to have brass band music programmed on our classical station, as well as Salt River Brass  performances regularly promoted. Sterling even broadcast interviews with our conductor and players.  All from a flyer of a phone call.

Talk to people.  Take a chance,  Get creative,  Reach out.