Kiski Valley Community Band a passion for its members

When the holiday season approaches, Patti Marco looks for a good challenge.

The Kiski Valley Community Band, of which she is the president and conductor, began its run with a Christmas concert in 1993.

This year, like so many others before, she began her preparations for the holiday music season by poring over YouTube and sheet music sites like JW Pepper for song ideas.

She also takes suggestions on new songs and renditions of classics to help spice up a holiday music set list the band is scheduled to perform in four December shows.

“I can say that we're doing more challenging music each time. That's important to keep people challenged,” said Marco, of Allegheny Township. “It just gets you motivated to develop.”

Until the band's first charity holiday concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at Christ Lutheran Church in Murrysville, that development will take place during weekly rehearsal, held Tuesday nights at Kiski Area Intermediate School.

Between 40 and 45 people are band members, Marco said, though scheduling conflicts, often with other area bands, bring that number down to about 30 for many rehearsals and performances.

This year's show includes a few classic tunes, among them “Sleigh Ride” and Leroy Anderson's “A Christmas Festival.”

Marco also plans a rendition of “Greensleeves”; a version of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” that combines voice-over and instrumental elements; and a few sing-alongs to get the audiences involved.

Depending on how preparations go, she said, an audible could be in order.

“Some are ready, and we're not going to worry about those. Others we need to keep working. Usually by the time performance comes, we're ready,” Marco said. “I put out a lot of music, and if something's not going to click, we wait until the next year.”

Many of the band's members are friends. There are a few families, too.

Diane Sheffler, 52, her husband, Walt, 60, and their daughter, Desiree, 20, are all band members. Diane plays the flute, Walt plays the trombone and Desiree sings.

“My husband and I were both music majors in college,” said Sheffler, who has been playing instruments, including the clarinet and flute, since fourth grade.

The Shefflers, of Latrobe, often carpool to rehearsals with another Kiski Valley Community Band family.

Helen Auman, 68, is also a flutist. Her husband, Richard, plays the trombone.

The couple has participated in the Kiski Valley Community Band for more than five years after 10 years of playing in the North Hills-based North Pittsburgh Symphonic Band.

Helen Auman said audiences in the area tend to connect with holiday music played by a live band.

“It just seems like people like to hear live music,” said Helen Auman, who has been playing flute since seventh grade. “It's nice to show people that adults can play instruments years and years after their parents buy them instruments.”

Richard Auman picked up the trombone as a sixth-grader because his father played the trumpet and wanted instrumental variety in the household.

He is proficient in nearly every brass instrument, has served as a band director at both Derry Area and Greater Latrobe high schools and now teaches trombone at Saint Vincent College while helping a few Hempfield Area band students.

A musician never really retires, he said.

“One nice thing about music is as long as you have your brains and all of your digits, you can continue to play,” Richard Auman said. “It's not like football where you reach that age where it's time to give it up.”

Many Kiski Valley Community Band members play spring musicals for local high schools and colleges. Then there's a summer concert season.

Following a short September break, Marco said, the weekly Christmas concert rehearsals resume.

“It's just good people who love to play music,” she said.

Andrew Erickson is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4675 or aerickson@tribweb.com.