Pack your picnic basket, grab some lawn chairs or a blanket and don’t forget the eye shades as the Sequim City Band begins the 2011 outdoor summer season at the bandshell at the James Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, May 15. The Sequim High School Wind Ensemble opens the concert at 2 p.m. with the city band at 3 p.m.

The concert includes “March Slav” by Tchaikovsky, the “Washington Post March” by John Phillip Sousa, songs from “Oklahoma” by Rodgers and Hammerstein and “Evita” by Andrew Lloyd Webber, a compilation piece called “Glenn Miller in Concert” and Rob Romeyn’s 2010 “Tailspin.” A special march, “Lassus Trombone” by Henry Fillmore, will be played in memory of Reva Bates, a long-time city band supporter who played trombone in high school; Bob Costain, city band trumpeter; and Tom Byrne, city band alto saxophonist.

The Sequim City Band has monthly outdoor concerts from May through September on the third Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. Regular practices on Mondays from 7-9 p.m. are held at the James Center for the Performing Arts in the Swisher Rehearsal Hall at 563 N. Rhodefer Road. Membership is open to all musicians upon approval of the director, Sanford Feibus, 683-2546. For more information, visit www.sequimcityband.org.

Each year the Sequim City Band presents scholarships to college-bound and college freshman and sophomore North Olympic Peninsula music students.

This year’s recipients are Chase Hollen, Sequim High School; Blake McCabe, Port Angeles High School; and Jodi Chamberlin, a Port Angeles High School graduate attending Pacific Lutheran University. 

Hollen plays trombone, tuba and sousaphone and plans to attend the University of Washington majoring in music education. McCabe plays baritone sax and bassoon; he intends to major in fashion/costume design and study theater and music at Seattle Central Community College. The Sequim City Band has enjoyed having Chamberlin play flute and piccolo for the past three years. Her intended major at PLU is elementary education with a focus on music.

The city band members encourage local high school musicians to join them for weekly practices on Mondays at the Swisher Practice Hall at the James Center for the Performing Arts and subsequent concerts on the third Sunday of the summer months at 3 p.m. Call 683-2546 for information.