Does the sound of big band, show tunes and marches get your toes tapping? Come enjoy the Nanaimo Concert Band playing this Sunday July 20 at 7:00pm at Simms Park as part of the free summer concert series hosted by the City of Courtenay.

Established in 1872, Nanaimo Concert Band is one of Canada’s oldest continuously operating bands, made up of more than 50 musicians playing a wide variety of brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.

“We’re going to do lots of fun light summer music for this concert,” said band member and publicity co-ordinator Shari Barker. “The whole family will love it. There’s going to be music across a range of genres like swing, classical and musicals.”

Enjoy the full sound of the band including solos by percussionists Terry Totzke and Wayne Finucan, lead trumpet players Paul Rathke and Morris Macklin, and saxophonists Nicola Crowhurst and Alex Beynon, to name just a few.

The Nanaimo Concert Band is lead in this performance by John Forbes, a Victoria Music Hall of Famer, who spent 30 years in the military band system. There, he not only played every instrument, but he also served as a concert pianist, vocalist, conductor, and staff arranger for the military.

Other featured Simms Park performances include Fiddlejam on July 27, Duo of  Duos on August 10, The Blues Legends on August 17, XLR8 on August 24 and Ralph Barrat and the Sharp 7 on August 31.

For concert information please call the Courtenay Recreation Lewis Centre at 250-338-5371 or get updates at www.courtenay.ca/simmsconcerts

The Simms Summer Concert Series is sponsored by the Comox Valley Echo. The Goat 98.9 FM, and the City of Courtenay.