Sumter's best-kept secret: Sumter Community Concert Band strikes a fresh note of togetherness, tradition

Posted

On any given Thursday evening, as the sun dips below Sumter's skyline, a different kind of light begins to glow inside a rehearsal hall.

Musicians trickle in one by one to First Baptist Church's Fellowship Hall in downtown Sumter, cases clicking open and instruments glinting under the lights. The air hums with a mixture of warm greetings - "Hey, how was your weekend?" - and the gentle sounds of scales and snippets of melodies as small groups practice. Laughter rings out, stories are shared, and what begins as a collection of individuals quickly transforms into a joyful ensemble.

This is the Sumter Community Concert Band, a musical family that has been bringing harmony to the city since 1982.

For more than four decades, SCCB has been a cornerstone of Sumter's creative culture, offering free concerts that celebrate both music and community. The band made its debut Nov. 14, 1982, at the "old" Sumter Opera House and has graced numerous venues throughout Sumter and surrounding areas. Musicians of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels can find their place among these members, adding to its diverse repertoire of talent, from teachers, farmers and students to doctors, lawyers and retirees.

The band's music selection, much like its members, has been a rich blend of diverse, vibrant and classical compositions. Even when the ensemble's membership was smaller, its performances were mighty and full of dedication.

In recent years, the band has seen much growth in its members and its collection of music, growth that 10-year SCCB trumpetist Regan Yates can only describe as "fresh."

"Fresh music, fresh young faces - even the way rehearsal is ran is different," she explained, detailing the band has evolved since she returned to Sumter post-college graduation in 2013 and was convinced by current SCCB Director Sean Hackett to join.

Charter member and clarinetist Joni Brown couldn't be happier with what the band has become - especially for the next generation of talent. It has become a bridge between generations, a space where high school students play alongside charter members, where teachers call former students their colleagues and where a shared love of music brings everyone together.

"That's every teacher's dream - that your students will have a lifelong love of music and continue to create music," she said, beaming. "In fact, Sean Hackett was not ever one of my students in my school, but he interned with me as a college student, came back and worked with my students. It's really wonderful to see him now as the director, and we're able to laugh and joke around, and we just have a camaraderie that I think artistic people tend to have when they're with their kind."

And for Erin Milliner, a French horn player and military spouse, finding the SCCB was like discovering a piece of home. After moving to Sumter in 2021, she stumbled upon the band through a fellow church member. She decided to give it a try, and the warm welcome and immediate sense of belonging that followed have made her last two years with the band memorable and moving.

"It's amazing to see people from all walks of life come together to be able to put on a show. Everyone's been so nice and so helpful, not just with music, but with recommending places to eat and different events and things that are going on around town," she expressed. "Music really does bring people together."

And the three are looking for more of that - togetherness. So, they're letting folks in on the secret.

For the 2024-25 season, the band rehearses every Thursday night at First Baptist Church, 107 E. Liberty St., from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall in the educational building. There are no auditions. To connect with the band, visit Sumter Community Concert Band on Facebook.

Brown hopes to connect with local colleges as well as Shaw Air Force Base in order to give more students and families a place to play. It doesn't matter if you've picked up your instrument last month or 50 years ago, according to Yates; it's like "riding a bike."

"Come and join us," she encouraged. "If you want to be there, then we want you to be there."


x