“Connecting to the Community through Music; a look at Community Bands in Southern Maryland”

Michael Luginbill, a music student at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, recently completed his senior project on community music. He studied five community bands in Southern Maryland that play many different kinds of music, including Latin, jazz, marches and musical comedy. Through surveys of and interviews with members, Luginbill found a rich musical culture where members supported each other and where adults from all walks of life developed their musical potential. He also found that musicians consciously directed the efforts of their ensembles towards the broader community good, as they played in benefit performances for non-profit organizations, festivals and fairs. Michael Luginbill is BES member Elizabeth Milstead’s father and lives in Leonardtown, MD.