And the band plays on

Members team up to share their love of music

By Heather Ruenz

SLN Staff

After directing the Palmyra-Eagle Community Band for more than 20 years, why does Ed Pierce stay at it?

“I do this for the satisfaction of working with wonderful people in my profession. Even if it’s challenging at times there’s only one way to go and people almost always surprise you… in a good way,” Pierce said.

The band was formed in 1993. One year later, Pierce began directing it. At that time, he said, they were lucky if 15 or 16 people showed up. Now, the band carries 45 members on its roster from a wide area, including Burlington, Dousman, Eagle, East Troy, Elkhorn, Milton, Palmyra and Whitewater.

Pierce said the band plays marches, polkas, Broadway hits, movie themes, patriotic songs and more.

“But like any director does, I measure what the audience wants to listen to,” Pierce said. “I also pepper in a healthy amount of Sousa, who we think of as a guy who wrote marches but he wrote thousands of songs, literally, including folk and opera.

“There wasn’t a hunk of junk in the Sousa playlist.”

Pierce was like a proud father talking about the band being presented an Honor Flight medallion last year for its 1940s show CD. They also gave hundreds to the Honor Flight organization for mail calls.

“We found something to separate us from the pack, and I don’t mean that against other community bands as there are several very good ones in the area,” Pierce said. “But the ’40s music has really been great for us. In addition to performing for Honor Flights, we’re booked for a WWII-era fly-in in Watertown in May and it’s quite a big event.”

Musical talent aside, Pierce said he’s “never seen a group so free of what you’d call ‘politics.’ There’s genuine friendship, caring and enjoyment and it’s wonderful to be a part of that.”

Valerie Cole, of Whitewater, said Pierce is the driving force behind the band.

“He finds music that challenges us but not to the extent that there is little hope in a positive outcome,” Cole said. She played the trombone from fifth grade through college but switched to the baritone while in the Milton Community Band “because it had more melody.”

Cole joined the Palmyra-Eagle Community Band because she “really liked the enthusiasm.

“We were few but we had fun. Through the years, the band has been so very fortunate in recruiting excellent musicians. I am blessed to play between two great musicians who have made me a better musician.”

The band started with “a handful of area people who dragged out their instruments and the music was pretty grade-school level, perfect for that time because it’s really difficult to play instruments when you haven’t for years,” Cole said.

She said it’s a joy to see and hear how far the group has grown, and she enjoys the diversity of its members, all focused on one goal.

“I sit between a retired physician and a corporate tech guy,” Cole said. “We have many current and retired teachers in the group. Hearing how beautifully the voices of the various instruments come together is almost a religious experience.

“One is never too old to enjoy and make music,” Cole added.

Jim Neist, of Dousman, said playing music is a “lifelong skill that everyone should be able to enjoy. We encourage any adult to join us; it’s never too late to learn an instrument.”

Neist began his musical journey when he was 6. After seeing “The Music Man” at a theater, he said he wanted to play the trombone but a meeting with a music teacher changed that.

“When the teacher met me, he laughed and told me I would be too small to play the trombone. My short arms would not be able to reach past the third or fourth position, out of seven. He offered the trumpet as a second choice, and when presented with a trumpet, my arms still appeared too short,” Neist said. “So I ended up starting on a cornet which has the same tubing length as a trumpet with a couple of more bends to shorten it and bring the valves closer to the player. This worked fine.”

Neist joined the band in 2000, a year after his wife, Gina, had joined. About nine years ago, he helped form the Kettle Moraine Blues, a group comprised of several of the band’s section leaders: Ellie Hawes – alto and tenor sax; Deb Gilbert – piano; Gina Neist – bass clarinet; Nancy Campbell – drums and trumpet; Todd Kienitz – trombone; Jim Nelson – tuba; and Pierce, who sings and plays drums.

Because of the unique instrumentation of the group, Neist said he’s arranged most of the music they play.

“Our repertoire consists of everything from Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance’ to Nat King Cole’s ‘Unforgettable’ and the ‘Beer Barrel Polka.’ We play blues, jazz, standards, rock, polkas, and country,” Neist said. “This small group allows us to bring music to venues that might not be able to support the larger community band. We’ve played at the Square in East Troy, Linden Ridge nursing home in Mukwonago, Fairhaven Senior Living in Whitewater, Reflections Adult Day Care in Fort Atkinson and other similar venues. We’ve also played several private parties.”

After high school, Neist said he decided to make music part of his long-term future so attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he earned a bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education.

He was certified to teach K-12 instrumental music, but said teaching jobs were scarce at the time so he took advantage of an opportunity to work as an educational consultant for Cascio Music in New Berlin where he worked his way up to eventually becoming the company’s vice president and general manager.

“During my tenure, I worked with the New Berlin Park and Rec Department to establish the New Berlin Community Band and convinced an old friend, the late Dr. Nicholas Contorno (Marquette University), to direct the band. After leaving Cascio Music to become a manufacturer’s rep for Gemeinhardt, a flute manufacturer, I moved to the Eagle area and began playing with the Palmyra-Eagle Community Band,” Neist said.

“Music is a skill you can enjoy your entire life,” Neist said. “I recommend parents encourage each and every child to take music lessons. Playing and learning music benefits people of all ages –and, it’s proven fun.”

Trombone player Chelsea Kienitz said she began playing in 2003 while in sixth grade and played through high school and college. She has been a member of the community band for nine years and said she enjoys the variety of music the band performs.

“It is really hard to narrow it down to just one type, but I really love playing polkas. The trombones always have such fun parts. Polkas are fun to play but also to sing and dance to. They get the audience involved,” Kienitz said.

Jody Garber, a French horn player from East Troy, said the best thing about the band is how much the members enjoy it. She also said Pierce is a great director.

“He is slap-stick funny, a music historian, and humble at the same time,” Garber said. “He thanks us for playing every week.”

Pierce said the band welcomes “anyone who plays a brass, woodwind or percussion instrument, from high school on up.”

Opportunities such as directing a community band don’t show up too often, according to Pierce, who has some advice for young band directors out there.

“If they get an opportunity such as this, take it and don’t look back,” Pierce said. “I thought I’d do this a few years and here I am, enjoying every minute of it. It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of.”

For more information visit www.pecb.info and for those interested in joining the band, click on “Membership info.”