Not every established community group is old-fashioned. The Dunedin Music Society’s flagship ensemble, the Dunedin Concert Band founded in 1981, won this year’s Global Music Award Bronze Medal for “creativity and originality.”

Competitions are not the primary focus of the performers in the Dunedin Concert Band, as that distracts from their ability to share live music with their circles of influence. However, it is comforting that our programming and adaptability to shift events online during the COVID-19 pandemic’s isolation period is rewarded.

Creativity and originality of the music we perform and the way we share it with the world, are two important factors that Maestro Stephen P Brown, Conductor of the Dunedin Concert Band, takes into consideration when making plans up to two years in advance.

To demonstrate diversity and inclusion, the DCB’s next performance on Sunday, October 17 includes music that Brown planned for immediately before isolations began, and reflects Spanish deserts, an Appalachian celebration of life, and a fast car ride with James Bond. After talking with Robert W. Smith, renowned composer of the “Don Quixote” symphony the band will perform, Brown said “the cultural influences of the African Moors, the Romans and the shift of Castilian territory from Leon in Northwest Spain to La Mancha in the Southeast, contribute to an exciting musical and emotional journey that is centered around a fascinating 400-year old fictional character, who we can actually still see parts of in all of us today.”

Brown’s wife, Melissa, will give a special pre-concert talk as an expert in the writings of Miguel de Cervantes, author of “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha” and a contemporary of William Shakespeare. The insights she gleaned from composer Smith will further bridge the relationship between literary creativity and musical originality.

With performances all over Pinellas County since isolations began, the Dunedin Concert Band is happy to finally return to its home at the Dunedin Community Center on Sunday, October 17th at 3pm (pre-concert talk is at 2pm with limited seating). For more information, details, and to ensure your admittance, register now at dunedinmusicsociety.org

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Recovering, Rebuilding and Reconnecting services that are essential for the heart, physically, mentally and emotionally, requires an amazing balance of zealous and sometimes very loud and admonishing sentiments. 

Many of our members, performers and volunteers are seeking clarification regarding Dunedin Music Society activities right now, and we would like to share our current position with you and our fans in the public space.

New York Times/ Google COVID-19 statistics, accessed 9/1/2021

According to the New York Times data that Google presents on its website, the peak of COVID-19’s Delta variant in Florida occurred on August 16 with 29,711 active cases, and as of the time of writing, the number of active cases is 19,908 which shows a drop of 33% in the past two weeks.[1] If data from other countries’ experiences with Delta can be relied upon, its rapid decline of spread has begun… but we still remain cautious, caring and optimistic, in case it hasn’t.

In fact, the CDC reports that so far in 2021, there have been slightly fewer deaths in Florida from COVID-19 (21,490 = 0.009% of FL’s population) than from pneumonia (22,410 = 0.011%).[2] Neither are in the CDC’s top 10 causes of death in Florida so far [3] – heart-related deaths remain the highest concern at 0.021% of our population. These numbers include non-residents in Florida at the time of passing.

As a response, the DMS and all its groups, including the Dunedin Concert Band, have requested that everyone take the action they believe is essential for their safety and the safety of their loved ones, which may include masks, vaccines, or even staying away from in-person activity.

We have been made aware of neighbors medically advised not to take the COVID-19 or other vaccines (long before COVID became a thing) due to existing medical conditions that are likely to put them at higher risk of dangerous reactions. DMS General Director Stephen P Brown stated “We have asked everyone to make their own decisions re: masks, vaccines and participation to demonstrate compassion for others and/or for self-preservation, and as we are a fully inclusive organization, we do not discriminate against or exclude those that do or those that don’t.”

“We need to show as much compassion for those with higher health risks beyond COVID-19 as we do for those for which COVID-19 is the highest health risk. Blanket assumptions about each individual without context are not helpful, and do not demonstrate the compassion we all possess.” Brown said.

“Live Music – Essential for the heart”

The DMS Executive Committee recently decided that:

1. Our regular programs (Dunedin Concert Band, Florida Symphonic Winds, Pinellas Festival of Community Bands, and Rhythm Kings Jazz Orchestra) will continue with their current schedules. The Pinellas Community Players will also resume rehearsals and performances as soon as a new Conductor has been appointed.
2. Our brand new programs originally scheduled to launch this month (Novice Adult Band, Novice Adult Strings, Homeschool Band, Homeschool Strings, and Music Teacher Trainings) will not launch and are postponed for the foreseeable future. Our Music Theory Certification Workshops and Repertoire Workshops due to launch later this year will likely proceed.

Whether you mask and vaccinate to show compassion for others and/or for self-preservation, or do not mask and vaccinate due to existing health risks and/or other reasons, we invite you to consider participating in live music activities and taking the measures you believe are necessary for you and your loved ones in your household.

Zubin Mehta, former Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, declared “Music is the message of peace, and music only brings peace.” 

Cellist Pablo Casals stated “Music – that wonderful language – should be a source of communication among men.”

Moliere, a playwright of the 17th century, advised “All the disorders, all the wars which we see in the world, only occur because of the neglect to learn music.”

We remain in service to connecting our communities with live music – essential for the heart.

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“Finding our tribe” became a trend that marketers like Seth Godin touted as the way to succeed. However, these days a tribal mindset has caused strife, resentment and divisive bickering. We can easily overcome such fanatic deception by connecting our local communities with live, in-person music.

Music itself remains a-political. Only those who refuse to consider its deep impact on each individual – and even its ability to save lives – will use music as a means to justify their actions or support their cause. Music is not a tool, it is a language – the language of emotions that you can’t put into words. Participating in music as either a performer or audience member is not only good for the soul, but time and time again throughout history it has proven to build better communities. 

The immediate problem is that the practice of seeking “tribes” causes people to push against what they don’t already know, like, and appreciate, and music becomes a mascot for the cause they are determined to adopt. “People speak with enormous pomposity and arrogance about music,” said Elvis Costello, but it doesn’t have to be that way. 

There are people who recognize music for what it is, over and above winning trophies and awards, serving as a marketing tool, or providing emotional manipulation in movies and political rallies. Many of them are performers, or were at some point in their lives. Although music education in schools often consisted of daily group practice towards winning a State adjudication or competition, the music itself remained a part of every human soul. Those with courage find ways to keep their music alive: sometimes throughout their lives, and sometimes reviving it 20 years later when their nest is empty.

That is why the Dunedin Music Society accommodates those who want to experience live music in person, as well as those who are more comfortable meeting in smaller groups. Unable to sufficiently cater to the wide variety of music-making demands throughout Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Hillsborough, and now Manatee counties with just one local band, the DMS now hosts multiple ensembles to help people break down the barriers of “tribal” stereotypes.

Their flagship ensemble, the Dunedin Concert Band, helps advanced woodwind, brass and percussion players challenge themselves, whereas the Pinellas Community Players gives proficient performers a chance to play, too. The Rhythm Kings Jazz Orchestra and a chamber ensemble are high-quality professional groups providing both serious and dance-like entertainment, and the new Novice Adult Band and Novice Adult Strings help beginning and returning instrumentalists nourish their passions. The Florida Symphonic Winds will represent our local music community in Europe next year, and there is also a new homeschool orchestra in North Pinellas for students under 18.

“As someone who has been involved with classical, theater and choral music for most of my life, I picked up an instrument new to me, the cello, from scratch in 2018 and was thrilled to be welcomed into the Pinellas Community Players this year. The enthusiasm and encouragement with which they received me, even after this horrible pandemic year, to play music with a group of adult peers at my level, was an invaluable experience,” said Melissa Brown.

No matter your social identifiers, you can help make our world a better place by sharing your music together with people from other circles of influence. Players and students of orchestral and band instruments are strongly encouraged to pick up where they left off and join a Dunedin Music Society ensemble this Fall.

Passionate individuals should reach out to the DMS at http://dunedinmusicsociety.org or 727.800.3727