As the Greenfield Military Band marks its 115th anniversary this year with a robust cohort of members and a busy roster of summer events, its longest-running director Albert Benjamin reflected in his home in May on the group’s significance to the community — and to his own life.
While “military” is in its title, Benjamin is clear: the group is first and foremost a community band. And it encompasses residents from all parts of Franklin County (Benjamin lives in Athol) and beyond.
“Band is like a community,” Benjamin said. “When you make music together, it’s much like visiting, because now the instruments are talking with each other.”
Benjamin’s love of music has influenced every aspect of his life: his education, work, hobbies and more. Playing music even shaped Benjamin’s marriage and family — he met his wife while both played in their college marching band their freshman year in 1967.
Music also had a hand in Benjamin’s career, as he worked as a music teacher in local public schools for the duration of his working life. However, seemingly, teaching music wasn’t quite enough for Benjamin, as he joined the Greenfield Military Band shortly after college and never left. Bonnie Benjamin, his wife, followed soon after
In 1982, Albert Benjamin became the band’s director, a title he holds to this day — making him the longest-running band director in the group’s history. And while Benjamin admits the position involves a lot of work — compiling set lists, seeking new music, raising money and finding new members — he said it is one he has cherished doing over the years.
“It was a natural extension of my skills as a teacher, and as a community person,” Benjamin said.
After having children, the band became a family affair, with the couple’s two children playing while they were growing up.
While Benjamin majored in the saxophone in college and prefers wind instruments, he can play just about anything.
“Some things much better than others,” Benjamin offered.
The military band has retained a robust cohort of roughly 30 to 40 people — even growing slightly — since it was established in the early 1900s. Members range in age from teenagers to retirees, most between 55 and 75 years old.
“The reason the band’s expanded is because we’ve been diligent in asking people to play,” Benjamin said.
While Benjamin continues to recruit new faces, the band also has a handful of longtime members. One such member is Dave Miller, who has played trumpet in the band for more than 40 years since the early 1970s, at the height of the Vietnam War. For Miller, the band was a welcome respite from the chaos and confusion caused by a convoluted, devastating war.
“The band provided a haven for us,” Miller said. “Being able to play and have that feeling of camaraderie with others with similar interests, and not having to think about what was going on in the outside world for a little while.”
One band member’s brother died in Vietnam, he said, and band members helped support him through that period.
“That was really traumatic for us all,” Miller said. “Of course, we felt what he was feeling.”
While the Vietnam War is long over, Miller continued to play with the band for its mental and social benefits, he said. For Miller, playing an instrument “keeps the mind active,” while his fellow players help make the process “really fun.”
Though he is retired now, Miller played in the band right through his career, often attending practices after a long day in the office, he said.
“During the summer months when we performed, we had rehearsals. I would rush home from work, have something to eat and go to rehearsals,” Miller said.
Every year, a few new faces appear in the band, with trumpeter Carol Coan joining up last year.
While an experienced singer — Coan has been a part of a local chorus group for two decades — she only picked up the trumpet five years ago. She said she has enjoyed honing her trumpet skills while meeting new people.
“Any musical group becomes a community,” Coan said. “Greenfield is blessed with having lots of different musical groups around. It’s fabulous that Greenfield has its own community band.”
The Greenfield Military Band will hold public concerts most weeks through September at locations in Greenfield. In July, the band will play at the Greenfield Energy Park every Tuesday at 7 p.m.
For more information, visit www.greenfieldmilitaryband.org.
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.