The Zeeland Community Band Christmas Concert will take place on Monday, December 12th, 2022. Holland-based handbell duo Larry and Carla will once again be joining with the band, to add the music of handbells to the performance.
About the performers
The Zeeland Community Band (ZCB) is a group dedicated to providing opportunities for the adult musician to rehearse and perform with others that share a passion for music and community outreach. They welcome any musicians with at least a high-school-level proficiency in their chosen instrument.
ZCB director Rose Wiersma earned a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in music education, music theory, and clarinet performance. She gained her Master of Music degree as a Woodwind Specialist from Western Michigan University. Her advanced studies included Michigan State University and a summer studying in London. She has directed bands at Coopersville Area Public Schools and Grand Valley State University as a woodwind instructor.
Larry and Carla are West Michigan’s smallest handbell choir! They are available to perform handbell duets for wedding ceremonies, worship and memorial services, and Christmas and holiday events.
The Zeeland Community Band Christmas concert will feature a handbell duet prelude by Larry and Carla. This popular annual community event will include a variety of Christmas and holiday music to help you celebrate the season!
Free Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
Thanks to everyone who came to the Zeeland Community Band concert at Pumpkinfest!
We’ve been living here in Michigan for more than two years now, so we’re used to the idea that the weather can be unpredictable. It’s not unlike English weather. The rain tends to appear at those most inconvenient times when you have something fun and outdoorsy planned. That was the case this weekend at the annual Zeeland PumpkinFest! The Zeeland Community Band’s annual PumpkinFest concert was meant to be at Vande Luyster Park. Instead, we all moved to an indoor location at the Howard Miller Library. Congratulations if you managed to find us!
We were concerned that our audience might not get the message about the change of location. We pictured a crowd of disappointed people sitting forlornly in lawn chairs on sodden grass in front of the gazebo. However, we needn’t have worried. So many people arrived at the library that we had to fetch more chairs!
Zeeland Community Band director, Rose Wiersma, welcomes everyone to the concert
The PumpkinFest concert is an ideal opportunity for orange accessories, and band members did not disappoint!
This year’s concert repertoire
This year’s concert repertoire included a few spooky Halloween-style pieces, as well as some popular marches. There was even some movie music! We started with The Billboard March, followed by Into the Storm, a very appropriate piece for this time of year! Ghost Riders in the Sky followed. After that, we strung our bells into “bell trees” for Highlights from Harry Potter. This is an unusual technique for us, as we usually play all our pieces holding two bells in each hand.
Bell trees, where the bells are gently struck with mallets instead of being played in the usual way
Eagle Lake March was followed by Clowns, then we enjoyed another opportunity to play the well-known Danse Macabre. This one involves some quick bell-changes for us! We first played this piece a year ago in concert with the Coopersville Community Concert Band.
March of the Marionettes was next on the program, followed by The Pink Panther. Band director Rose took a few moments to read to the younger members of the audience!
The next piece was the Sandpaper Ballet, which wouldn’t be complete without sand blocks and audience participation!
Handing out sand blocks to the audience!
The next piece was the fun Comedians Galop. The concert concluded with On the Mall, with another opportunity for the audience to participate with singing and whistling. Audience members rose to their feet with generous applause, which the band members appreciated. Finally, the band played Valley Forge as an encore. It takes a lot of effort to put together a concert, and it was reassuring to know that the rain hadn’t dampened anyone’s enthusiasm!
Thanks to everyone who came to this year’s PumpkinFest concert!
Thanks to the Zeeland Community Band for including us!
We thoroughly enjoyed being part of this year’s PumpkinFest concert, and we’re thankful to the Zeeland Community Band for continuing to welcome us as performers with their ensemble. This is a community band in every sense of the word; new members (with at least high school proficiency on their chosen instrument) are always welcome. Leave a comment below if you’d like more information about that, and we’ll connect you with the right people. The band continues to perform in local venues, with music that’s popular with people of all ages. It’s truly a privilege to work with these talented and enthusiastic musicians.
To find out more about the Zeeland Community Band, check out their website. We’ll be performing in concert with the band again at their Christmas Concert on Monday, December 10th, at the Cityside Middle School Auditorium, and we’d love to see you there!
Larry and Carla will be adding the music of handbells to the Zeeland Community Band’s outdoor concert during the PumpkinFest event in Downtown Zeeland.
The concert will be held at Vander Luyster Square Park (where the gazebo is). If it rains, we’ll move the concert indoors – to the activity room in the Howard Miller Public Library.
This event is open to the public, and is free to attend, although donations to the band are welcome and appreciated.
Since moving to West Michigan a couple of summers ago, we’ve enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with the Zeeland Community Band. We’ve now come to the end of our 2018 summer season with this talented and friendly group.
At the first of the Zeeland Community Band summer concerts, June 2018
The Zeeland Community Band was founded in January 1994. The aim of the band is to give adult musicians an opportunity to play their instruments again in a band setting, even if they haven’t played since school or college. The group meets on Monday evenings in Zeeland, and is directed by Rose Wiersma. The band plays a variety of concerts during the year; some for residents and guests at retirement communities, and others open to the public.
Photo credit: Zeeland Community Band
The summer concerts in June and July took place at Vande Luyster Park in Zeeland. The weather was lovely on both those evenings, and both concerts were well attended, with audience members from Zeeland and surrounding areas… and from as far away as New York!
If you missed the ZCB concerts in June and July, you still have one more opportunity to see the band this summer – at the Drenthe Community BBQ on Saturday, August 18th. We won’t be there on that afternoon, but hope to be back with the band in the fall.
Future dates for your calendar:
Drenthe Community BBQ – Saturday, August 18th at 4:30pm
Zeeland PumpkinFest – Saturday, October 6th at 5:00pm
Christmas Concert – Monday, December 10th at 7:30pm
Larry and Carla will be adding the music of handbells to the first of Zeeland Community Band’s outdoor summer concerts for 2018. This event is open to the public, and is free to attend, although donations to the band are welcome and appreciated.
Since moving to West Michigan, we’ve enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with the Zeeland Community Band. It’s been fun to play our handbells in concerts and performances with this talented and enthusiastic group of musicians.
The Zeeland Community Band has been running since January 1994. The band aims to give adult musicians an opportunity to play their instruments in a band setting, even if they haven’t played since school or college. The group meets on Monday evenings in Zeeland, and Rose Wiersma is their director. They play at local events such as PumpkinFest, and regularly give performances at senior living communities. Don’t miss their popular Christmas concerts!
With director Rose Wiersma, December 2017
The band is planning some exciting concerts for the next few months, and we’ll be joining the group for some of the performances:
March 19th, 2018 at 6:30pm – A concert for residents and guests at Royal Park Place in Zeeland, MI (with handbells)
April 26th, 2018 at 7:15pm – A concert for residents and guests at Freedom Village, Holland, MI (No handbells in this concert)
April 30th, 2018 at 7:30pm – In concert with the Coopersville Community Concert Band in Zeeland, MI (with handbells)
Check our website and Facebook page for more details coming soon!
Thanks to the Zeeland Community Band and their director Rose Wiersma! We were happy to be invited to be part of another of their community concerts. We enjoyed performing for residents and guests at Freedom Village, a senior living community here in Holland, Michigan. It’s exciting to find out how much the sound of handbells can add to a band performance! The band had put in many hours of rehearsal for this concert, and their hard work paid off. It was an interesting and varied performance, with many positive comments from the audience afterwards.
The Zeeland Community band is a community ensemble in every sense. Its mission is to encourage adults to pick up their band instruments and make music! Even people who haven’t played in many years can find a place in this welcoming ensemble. The band rehearses on Monday evenings in Zeeland. You can find out more on their website, and get in touch if you have questions.
Playing handbells with the Zeeland Community Band
As you can see from the smiling faces, the band members enjoyed this performance too. We look forward to working with this talented group again!
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