After A Year Away, Wheaton Again Strikes Up Its Municipal Band

WHEATON, IL — As many times as Bruce Moss has stood in front of the Wheaton Municipal Band over the past 41 years, the group’s long-time conductor is fully aware of how different of an experience Thursday night’s initial drop of the baton will be not only for himself, but for the 55 musicians seated before him.

After the band was forced to shut down last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, it will return to Memorial Park for the start of its 92nd season at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The 90-minute performance will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Wheaton Park District on a new stage that will again provide the setting for the group’s slate of summertime shows.

Thursday night’s performance will also mark the first time the band has gathered together since the start of the pandemic with the exception of a Wednesday night dress rehearsal. For Moss, who is in his 42nd year as the band’s conductor, getting the band back together congers up a wealth of emotions following a year that has been difficult in its own right.

In addition to not providing live music to local residents, the pandemic also kept band members from the craft they love. While many of the musicians have side gigs which keep them musically engaged, those too were shut down due to the pandemic.

The time away has provided Moss with plenty of time to contemplate what the band’s return to playing in front of a live audience means. Despite missing an entire season last summer, however, Moss is excited to again be part of what has long been a summertime tradition in Wheaton.

“I know when the rubber meets the road, (band members) are going to be there ready to do it,” Moss told Patch on Wednesday. “But you have to understand, we have never experienced anything even remotely close to this before. We’ve had concerts that were rained out, but that was a single concert. There’s been nothing that has been nearly like this that shut the band down for the summer and then have things on either side of the summer going on with COVID.

“My take is that like with many things as things come back, people are going to come back more exuberant than ever because they’re so excited to be connected. This convinces me more than ever that there is no substitute for live music-making.”

After the pandemic forced the band to cease operations last spring, Moss and other band officials hoped the ensemble could gather together as last summer went on. COVID-19 restrictions kept that from happening, which relegated Moss to tape a series of videos with recordings of past performances to the band’s website. But not being able to provide the community with the live music it has become accustomed to for more than nine decades, Moss said, was tough to swallow.

“COVID was difficult enough but having the (band) shell sit there dormant was kind of a double-whammy,” Moss said.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, audience members will need to obtain a free ticket in advance to enter the park for summer performances. Performances will be limited to 900 tickets and residents will need to bring their own seating as the park district will not be providing bench seating this summer. Refreshments will be limited as will the size of the band, which is reduced to 55 players from its usual 90 members.

But even with changes — including the new band shell from which the sounds of summertime will resonate during the group’s nine scheduled performances this year — the return of the band provides Moss with a new appreciation of the group’s long-time connection to the Wheaton community.

“I’ve always thought that this group and this community were particularly special and that’s why I have stayed at it so long,” Moss said. “It’s a unique situation in Wheaton. It’s a unique setting, it’s a unique structure of support for a civic ensemble like ours from the city on down. They know they have something not everyone has.”

Moss added: “It keeps everyone young – not just the players, but myself.”