Nashville State Assembling Community Concert Band
If you are a musician interested in joining a community concert band, Nashville State Community College wants to hear from you.
What is expected to be a fun and rewarding experience, the Nashville State Concert
Band, a first for the college, is open to Nashville State students, community members,
and high school students. Performance experience is required. An audition or consent
of the conductor may be requested.
“We are very excited to be augmenting our performance opportunities at Nashville State to include a concert band with involvement of members of the community as well as students working on an associate degree in music,” said Dr. Michael Sundblad, dean of Nashville State’s School of Arts and Humanities.
Sundblad, who is passionate about the performance arts, continued, “We cannot wait to see how this develops over time. This unique ensemble will provide opportunities for performing and networking among musicians from our local communities.”
The community concert band is led by Dr. J. Corey Francis, an instructor at Nashville State who coordinates and teaches music theory and appreciation.
His prior experience includes leading marching and concert bands at Eastern Illinois University, Indiana State University, and high school programs in Kentucky and Georgia. Francis holds a Professional Teaching License from the State of Tennessee Board of Education.
Dr. Francis earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Music from Georgia State University, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Murray State University. In addition to Nashville State, he also teaches classes at Tennessee State University.
For students, the ensemble provides the opportunity to learn and perform music at the level of a four-year institution and the experience needed to gain a bachelor’s degree in music. This makes Nashville State a great place to start a music degree before transferring.
The college recently announced a pathway for Music Associate of Fine Arts (A.F.A.) graduates to transfer credits to Belmont University’s Bachelor of Music in Commercial Music (Performance Emphasis) program.
The ensemble also gives community members an outlet to perform in a semi-professional level ensemble.
The plan is for the band to perform one or two concerts each semester.
Rehearsals will be Monday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. at the White Bridge campus in West Nashville.
While Nashville State does have some percussion equipment, woodwind, and brass players are asked to provide their own instruments.
To register, which includes a $75.00 fee, visit Nashville State Community Concert Band.
