Ralph Hayes was photocopying some music at Kinko’s when a fellow musician noticed him.
The man played the trumpet in the Ballston Spa Community Band. He encouraged Hayes to check the group out.
In a matter of days, Hayes was one of the group’s newest members. His story seems to be a common one among band members they find the group almost by accident, but once they do, they get great joy from it.
I feel so energized after playing a concert,` said flutist Sue Reider, who joined the band after her husband had belonged for a few years. `I like playing music to make people smile.`
The multi-generational band will share that energy on Thursday, July 1, with a free concert at Wiswall Park in Ballston Spa. Marches, Broadway tunes and more are slated for the 6 p.m. show. People are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
For Hayes, a music composer and professor at The College of Saint Rose, one of the lures of the band is that most of the other members don’t make music their livelihood. He’s seen too many professional musicians who `might as well be working on an assembly line,` he said.
The community band, by contrast, is full of people who are passionate about music. That’s especially true of the director, Tracy DeRagon, Hayes said, calling her `incredibly dedicated.`
`For her to dedicate her time to us, it’s a tremendous gift,` he said.
Hayes has been dedicating his own time to making music since he was just a kid. He was 8 when he started playing the saxophone. A music major in college, he picked up several other instruments, including the oboe, flute, clarinet and piano. While he chiefly plays oboe with the community band, the group sometimes breaks into smaller groups for fundraisers, and Hayes has a chance to play one of his other instruments.
`That’s really nice to get some practice so they’re not just sitting around collecting dust,` he said.
The band also gives Hayes another chance to compose. He has written a few numbers specifically for the band, and it has also played some songs that he wrote that weren’t just for the group.
One song that he did compose for the band was a march that incorporated numerology ` the practice of assigning numbers to notes. Hayes gave some notes numbers that corresponded to the Ballston Spa ZIP code and used that for the march’s melody.
`That was one way to tie it to the community,` he said.
Marches are a staple at Ballston Spa Community Band shows, along with show tunes and pop music. Members said DeRagon strives to include a little something for everyone in the band’s programs.
`Anyone who goes to any of our concerts should be happy at least some of the time,` Hayes said with a laugh.
John Alfano, a trumpet player, said the band plays everything from `old, old standards` to modern tunes like those from the movie `The Incredibles.`
Like Hayes, Alfano was a music major in college. He played both piano and trumpet in high school, but as his college studies got more serious, he fell away from the trumpet.
In recent years, though, Alfano dreamed he took up the trumpet again and was playing in a band. Intrigued, he decided to see if he could become proficient in the instrument again.
It was a challenge.
`It’s not easy when you play everyday for 45 years,` let alone when you take a 45-year break, Alfano said.
But he found a good teacher, Scott Hallida, and soon, Alfano was confident enough in his playing that he decided to find a local band to join. He was visiting a music store in Burnt Hills when he saw a flier for the Ballston Spa Community Band.
`I just love playing in the band,` he said. `There’s a lot of fun and camaraderie. It takes you back to your high school and college days.`
The band practices at Ballston Spa High School, which is how Reider’s husband discovered them. At the high school one night, Jake Reider saw several people walking inside with instruments and wondered what was going on. When he learned they were part of the community band, he signed up, too.
Reider and his wife already belonged to several community music organizations. Having met in marching band at the University of Akron, when the couple moved to the Capital District after graduation, they joined numerous groups as instrumentalists.
After watching her husband’s community band shows for about two years, Sue Reider joined that group, too.
`I was hearing the concerts and I was pretty impressed,` she said.
The group’s music isn’t easy for her, but that’s part of the attraction.
`It’s challenging for me,` she said. `I love a challenge.`
She also loves how nice everyone in the group is, as well as its diverse repertoire.
`We play a little bit of something for everyone,` she said.
The Ballston Spa Community Band is always seeking new members. For information, visit the band’s Web site at www.bscband.org.“