Garden City Strings, City Band open season with joint concert and tribute to longtime trumpeter

Garden City Strings and the City Band opened the season with a joint concert that included a tribute to a longtime trumpeter and a varied program of marches, tangos, folk and popular songs. The event featured guest vocalist Colleen, oboist Kathy McCoy and arrangements by cellist Ron Wilcott.

The concert’s host began by noting the death of a longtime trumpet player identified in the program as "**** Johnson," saying, "He was a jolly good fella." The announcer described Johnson as having played with the group for decades, surviving multiple pacemaker surgeries and losing much of his sight before he ultimately stopped playing because he could no longer hear well enough.

The tribute framed the evening’s program and honored the band’s multi-generational history. "We sent a bevy of trumpet players down to play for his hundredth birthday down in Florence," the announcer said, adding that Johnson was 102 when he died. The host also mentioned that Johnson’s former stand partner, Janelle, was ill and could not attend.

Organizers and performers emphasized the ensembles’ volunteer nature and modest municipal support. The announcer said, "The city gives us a little bit of money, and we're grateful to them for doing that," and added that volunteers supply most of the staffing and musical leadership. The Garden City Strings were described as having started in 2019 from a university class and expanding into a larger community ensemble that continued meeting through the COVID pandemic.

Performance highlights named by the announcer included an arrangement by Bill Roche written in honor of the late trumpeter; Ron Wilcott’s arrangement based on a coronation piece; a movie-theme arrangement of "Gabriel's Oboe" featuring Kathy McCoy on oboe; a Beatles selection of "Yesterday"; Zydeco and tango numbers; and the state song of Montana performed near the program’s close. The announcer also thanked Gary Gillette for inviting the groups to perform and noted plans for future appearances at events such as the River Roots Festival and other community festivals.

The evening mixed reminiscence and program notes with brief personal anecdotes from the conductor and performers. The announcer mentioned the ensemble’s repertoire of more than 120 pieces and encouraged audience participation during the state song chorus. The host also noted a small book of the City Band’s history being available for sale, with proceeds to the Museum of City Band.

Beyond the tribute and program, the concert functioned as a community showcase of volunteer musicianship and cross-ensemble collaboration. No formal actions, votes or policy decisions were recorded during the event.