In general, a community is a group of people who share a common characteristic, interest, goal, or attitude. However, the word “community” can have different meanings, based on the situation you’re talking about or the context in which it is used. A community music ensemble—be it a wind band, orchestra, or jazz band—is an excellent real-life example of simultaneously using two definitions of this word.
External Community
If you Google “community ensemble,” you’ll get about 148,000,000 results (that’s one hundred forty-eight million, for those who naturally shy away from long numbers). Many of those links denote the website for a specific group that is sponsored by—or otherwise has ties to—the city that serves as their home base of operations. They play for the local community and probably publicize themselves as part of the hometown entertainment.
Many ensembles play not only in their hometown, but at various venues throughout their state and perhaps beyond. In this context, “community” centers on the geographic spots at which our audiences convene to hear our performances.
Internal Community
The other, less common definition of “community ensemble” is more of a social connection than anything else: we musicians sequester ourselves in own microcosm of rehearsals and concerts, peppered with face-to-face interaction, because our shared goal is to make the best music we can – not only for our audiences, but for ourselves. Sure, there are physical, psychological, and social benefits, but that’s not top-of-mind when someone signs up to play. Why does anyone partake of any leisure activity? Because it’s fun!
- Do we come to rehearsal each week because of the low-cost, low-stress, friendly environment where we can play many different styles of music? Sure, but these are mere social perks. Our primary goal is still to play great music. If a musician with unswerving loyalty to their craft wasn’t enjoying their time in one ensemble, they wouldn’t quit playing their instrument, they’d go find another group.
- Do we practice our instruments because we know it increases memory, motor control, auditory processing, and spatial coordination? No, those are only a few neurological enhancements resulting from hearing and playing music. We don’t think of the science behind it, we just play.
- Do we blow into metal or wood tubes or beat on drum heads every day because we know that dopamine (a.k.a. “the motivation molecule”) gives us a lift each time? No, we don’t think about it, we just feel that lift. So when musicians come together to play great music, usually with a good director, that “motivation” frequently expands from each individual to the whole group.
Emotional Core
We gather together and do this as a cohesive whole because at our core, each of us enjoys creating music with others, and that is what makes us the close-knit community you see on stage. Indeed, 99 times out of 100, we happily welcome new players and we’re sad when old friends leave. We exult when we play up-tempo music, and we gain catharsis or feel various emotions when we play slower pieces. Most importantly, when we find ourselves playing a tune we don’t necessarily care for, we continue practicing our craft, because it’s what we do.
This is only one definition of a musical group, but it’s powerful and it feels great when we play something well. We hope that comes across in our performances.
Have you ever been to hear a community ensemble and felt a palpable emotion? What was it? What kind of music was being played? Did these feelings change your expectations of the group?