New Greenfield Concert Band Ready to Get in Tune

For those who love to play music and have been looking for a creative outlet, look no further.

The Greenfield Concert Band, a group of professional and community musicians interested in continuing their love of performing beyond their high school and college music programs, has arrived.

With a board of five passionate, long-time musicians who have dedicated themselves to starting this ensemble, the band is on its way to bringing quality, free music to the area.

Greenfield Patch caught up with two founding members, Renee Lorenz and Jessica Turtenwald, to get the latest on the new band.

Patch: How did this idea come about, and who are the other founding members?  

RL: The band’s founding members — myself, Jessica, Kelly Schultz, Chris Blanchard and Eric Arenz — have all been involved in community concert bands across southeastern Wisconsin for many years. After experiencing first-hand what makes these bands great and not so great, we felt we should take that knowledge and form a band that would highlight the very best of what a concert band should represent.

JT: We decided it was time to create a high-caliber band for musicians looking for a challenge or to improve their talents and experience. There's more to a band than marches and Broadway tunes!

Patch: What are some of the musical backgrounds of some of the members?

RL: All of us have been playing since our school days and have performed with community bands from South Milwaukee to Oconomowoc, but our histories are very diverse. I, for example, have been playing clarinet for 16 years, but I came back to concert band performing just three years ago. On the other side of the spectrum, Kelly, our conductor, has performed and directed for far longer and with more ensembles than she’s willing to take credit for, although her experience speaks for itself. And Jessica has spent over a decade playing in other community bands and six years serving in leadership positions on their boards.

Patch: You say you are recruiting members ... what are you looking for? Any age requirements or residency requirements?

RL: Our only requirement is members must be at least 16. We’re looking for ambitious musicians to join us to take on the challenges of everything from complex classical and modern arrangements to fun crowd-pleasers like marches – and yes, showtunes. But, we’re definitely not trying to intimidate people. We’ve already talked with the Greenfield High School band director, Evan Marlowe, and he’s very excited about bringing a couple of his most talented students to join us.

JT: Everyone is welcome, especially those from Greenfield. Come showcase your talent to your city.

Patch: How often do you rehearse and what can people expect come September?

RL: We will rehearse once a week, Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. in the Greenfield High School band room. We’ve also booked concert space in the Greenfield Performing Arts Center for both a winter concert on Dec. 13 and spring concert on April 11. The community ­– and people at the high school and PAC especially – have already been so gracious to us, and the Greenfield Concert Band plans to follow their lead by making ourselves as inclusive as possible. With that in mind, our concerts will be free and open to the public. 

JT: We will also play at least two concerts throughout the area at various eldercare communities in an effort to provide music to those who are unable to go to our concerts.

Patch: What's the overall goal, or hope of the Greenfield Concert Band? 

RL: When we started, we created a mission statement that the Greenfield Concert Band would strive to “unite the talents of its performers, empower its membership with a quality repertoire, and provide the community with positive and memorable musical experiences.” We want music to be accessible to everyone – even if your skills are a little rusty or you just want to come hear us play. The Greenfield Concert Band wouldn’t be here without the community’s support, and we’re fully committed to extending that welcoming atmosphere to our future members and listeners.