Locally-based group brings diverse players together for ‘the love of music’
PENDLETON — Brenda Robertson of Pendleton hadn’t played the trumpet in a band for decades, but then last year — after the right confluence of circumstances — she was back.
“I’ve always enjoyed music, but I don’t sing, so I kind of let this (the trumpet) do the talking for me, I guess,” Robertson, 63, said during a break during practice on Sunday with Fall Creek Valley Community Band.
The Madison County-based band was founded 23 years ago, co-director Richard Hawk said. It begins its 2023 performance season on May 13, with a concert at Liberty Christian School in Anderson, followed by four other concerts, including one in Falls Park on June 25.
The all-volunteer group, which draws musicians largely from Madison and surrounding counties, started out based at Lapel High School but moved at the start of last year to Pendleton Heights Middle School.
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The location was more central for the band members, Hawk said, estimating that between 43 and 46 players attend each practice.
The group practices twice per month, with its seasons following the calendar year.
This past Sunday, players started arriving in the parking lot about half an hour before the scheduled 3 to 5 p.m. practice.
Most members arrived just a few minutes early, with the school band room becoming a swirl of activity as people streamed in and went to work setting up chairs and music stands, and assembling or otherwise readying their instruments.
Dave Humbert was the first person to arrive in the parking lot, with his tuba in the back seat.
He’s been with the Fall Creek Valley group for 15 years and has played the tuba for 62 years.
“Just to keep active. To keep music going,” he later said, explaining why he’s with the group. “It helps you think. And just being around friends.”
Humbert was Jay County High School band director for 38 years. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Ball State University, and has played with other bands since the late 1950s, including America’s Hometown Band in Muncie and Marhoefer German Band, a promotional group operated by a local meat packing company.
He started playing with Fall Creek Valley Community Band (then called Lapel Community Band) after retiring and moving to Fishers.
Nancy Shaw of Anderson, who plays the B-flat clarinet with the band, started playing in band in fifth grade, majored in music at BSU and taught music for 17 years.
She’s a legal secretary now and plays with several bands in addition to Fall Creek Valley, including America’s Hometown Band and the Indiana Wind Symphony in Carmel.
“Music’s always been there,” Shaw said.
Two members new to Fall Creek Valley this year are Sam Richards, 32, who plays the tuba, and his wife, Aubrey, 27, who plays the flute. They live in Anderson and work at a musical instrument store in Indianapolis, where they met.
Sam Richards said another co-worker prodded him to join the band.
Aubrey said, “I haven’t played since high school, so I’m still getting back into it.”
Dana Lakes of Pendleton, who plays flute and piccolo, has been with the band for 16 years.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “It is very fulfilling for me, and I like the camaraderie with the other musicians.
Lakes said she’s played music since she was 5, starting with piano. She started playing the flute in band in late elementary school, added the piccolo in high school, and after high school played flute at her church and with her daughters.
“When my daughters were grown, I decided I would like to play in a band again, and that’s when I discovered this community band,” Lakes said.
“I enjoy making music. Music is just fun to share with others.”
She said Fall Creek Valley Community Band “is very well run,” where everyone is supported and treated well.
“They just make it really fun for everyone,” she said.
She also said she likes the addition this year of the Liberty Christian School performance. The band will play with the school band, and any funds raised will benefit the school.
“I like that we’re giving back to the community,” Lakes said.
Hawk said Fall Creek Valley Community Band is open to all.
“There’s no restrictions, there’s no dues, nothing,” he said.
He said most musicians own their instruments, and “no one gets paid — this is what we call a non-profit association.”
He said the band is supported by donations and a few “dedicated” sponsors, with those funds being used to cover rent at the school, insurance for certain instruments the band uses that aren’t owned by the players, and for van rental for performances.
Nancy Reed of Cicero, the band’s board president and music librarian, as well as a flute and piccolo player, said the group is all about “the love of music, and the love of playing.”
She said she stopped playing in band in junior high and didn’t pick it up again for about 10 years. She’s now been playing with Fall Creek Valley for about a decade.
“If I had not been playing in this band, my instruments would be in a closet (collecting dust),” Reed said.
For more information about the band, visit facebook.com/fcvcbcommunityband/.
2023 season
Concerts are open to the public without charge but donations are accepted.
New this year
May 13 — Liberty Christian School
Summer Concert Series
June 25 — Falls Park
July 8 — Lapel Village Fair
TBA — One more concert in July; details to be announced
Christmas concert
Nov. 18 — Anderson First United Methodist Church
Band roster
John Amstutz, oboe
Angela Arias, trumpet
Kay Barnum, bass clarinet
Jim Blake, trumpet
Bill Bowes, percussion
Greg Bowes, clarinet
Janet Burkhart, clarinet
John Cash, trumpet
Julie Castor, flute (board member)
Michelle Collins Carroll, oboe
Jamie Davidson, alto sax
Steve Doty, baritone
Becky Fresquez, flute
Chris Glover, percussion
Lance Goen, trombone
Paul Harbron, bassoon
Lisa Hawk, bassoon
Richard Hawk, clarinet (co-director)
Bob Helvering, percussion
Gabe Helvering, percussion
Leah Helvering, percussion
Frank Hibbard, alto sax
Ernie Hite, trombone
Jack Hittle, French horn
Don Hoffman, trombone
Dave Humbert, tuba
Elizabeth Jarrell, alto sax
Shane Kirkpatrick, tenor sax
Dana Lakes, flute
Roger Manship, trumpet (board member)
Mike McLaughlin, baritone sax
Tod Miller, trumpet (board member)
Linda Mitchell-Powell, flute
Mark Mordue, tuba
Belinda Ness, flute
Jeff Nicholls, clarinet
Faith Ostling, clarinet
Rick Parker, baritone
John Poor, baritone
Jon Porter, tuba
Nancy Reed, flute (board president and music librarian)
Aubrey Richards, flute
Sam Richards, tuba
Brenda Robertson, trumpet
Shellie Sanford, French horn
Nancy Shaw, clarinet (board member)
Carolyn Spegal, clarinet
Kim Stoneking, trumpet (co-director)
Megan Stoneking, clarinet (board member)
Diana Tetrick, French horn
Andrea Tincher, French horn
Wes Tincher, baritone
Russ Towner, trumpet
Shirley Utterback, percussion
