Always Upbeat -- Encore Society of Music Hits the High Notes with New Concerts & Diversity

Jan. 22, 2003

Jazz clarinetist Harry Goldson had been out of playing music professionally for some 40 years when his interest was reignited by a chance encounter with the Encore Society of Music.
That was almost 10 years ago, and since that time, Harry has emerged as one of Northern Michigan‘s top jazz artists, issuing some 6-7 CDs of his own, along with accompaniment on many other local recordings.
“I would never have played again if it hadn‘t been for Encore,“ says the Suttons Bay accountant who played with Chicago‘s big bands for about seven years in the 1940s. “I was content to leave music behind me.“
Goldson‘s story is similar to that of many of the 45-60 members of the community band, some of whom are musicians who thought their performing days were long gone.
In Goldson‘s case, he and his wife Piper were tending their Suttons Bay Gallery one day when Encore‘s former founder and conductor Nancy Brammer stopped by, selling ads for the band‘s program.
“Piper told her that I played clarinet, but I hadn‘t played for years and years,“ Goldson recalls. “Nancy asked if I‘d like to join Encore, and I thought it would be fun to play some marches or at community band events. But I barely made the cut getting in.“
Needless to say, Goldson had a major turnaround, with his Encore membership sparking a personal renaissance.
“It‘s given me another life,“ he says. “I think it‘s such a fine musical organization. Even if I hadn‘t begun playing jazz again, it would still have been a great experience.“

THE EARLY DAYS
Encore was started in 1989 by Nancy Brammer, a talented oboeist who served as its artistic/executive director until retiring to Pennsylvania last July. In addition to conducting the Encore concerts, Nancy was a dynamo of boundless enthusiasm who brought musicians together from all over Northern Michigan.
“Today, we have musicians from high school kids through senior citizens, and even people in their 80s,“ says Executive Director Pam Albarado. “Some of our members are retired band directors, and many have been involved in local bands and orchestras for years.“
A pianist herself, Pam notes that Brammer was inspired by her membership in the Traverse Symphony Orchestra to launch Encore as an opportunity for other local musicians.
“She wanted to give all musicians a chance to participate, because in order to be in the TSO, you had to be very, very top-notch,“ Albarado says. “Encore is more of a down-to-earth group of people who come together for the love of music.“
Not that just anyone can join. Members must audition to get in the Society, which includes the 50-piece Encore Winds orchestra.
Membership also implies dedication. Musicians come from all over Northern Michigan and as far south as Clare to begin practicing six weeks before each concert. Practices are held from 6-10 p.m. every Monday at the Milliken Auditorium in Traverse City, leading up to major concerts.

NEW DIRECTIONS
Encore is presently halfway through its current season, which has received a boost with the addition of guest conductors and performances by nationally-touring musicians.
On January 26, for instance, Encore will sponsor Three Men and A Tenor, an Ann Arbor-based a cappella group that has achieved national acclaim for their renditions of pop, soul, country, comedy and Motown material. Other major guest artists this season have included opera singer Timothy Noble, and Howard Cable, an arranger for the Canadian Brass.
“It has been absolutely wonderful having guest conductors here to lead the concerts,“ says Encore President Gayle Zreliak. “The musicians have enjoyed having the experience of working with other conductors.“
Gayle got involved with Encore several years ago when her daughter joined the band as a bassoon player while still in high school. Although her daughter has since moved on to college and Gayle plays no instrument herself, she‘s remained president for the past two year out of enthusiasm for Encore‘s mission.
“What I like about Encore more than anything is the variety of music it has brought to the community and the level of musicianship,“ she says. “The quality of our musicians is something that most people in the community don‘t know about until they attend one of our concerts.“
Zreliak adds that Encore also strives to offer music of universal appeal. “We have a wonderful family presentation,“ she says. “We want the music to be very mainstream. We all know there‘s plenty of music up here that only captures a segment of local interest, so what we try to do is offer music that crosses every segment of appeal.“
For the current season, that music includes everything from Dixieland jazz, to ragtime, big band, Christmas and Valentine‘s Day concerts, Celtic sounds and Sousa to name a few.

KEEPING IT TOGETHER
General Manager Marlene Bielas is another parent who joined Encore because her daughter, a flutist, got involved in the band.
Marlene says that even though band members are volunteers, fundraising and underwriters are necessary to maintain Encore‘s annual series of six-to-eight major events and 20-or-so concerts overall.
“Our musicians actually pay dues to play -- that‘s how committed they are to their music and the organization,“ she says. Adult musicians pay $45 per year, while students pay $20. They also pay their costs getting to and from the concerts.
For the future, Bielas says she‘d like to see Encore branch out to perform in more communities. Most of its concerts are at the Milliken Auditorium now, but there have also been performances in Grayling and Alden. “I‘d like to see us grow as a group and expand the places where we perform to outlying areas such as Suttons Bay and Leland,“ she says.
Albarado says the organization is growing in other ways as well: a new Encore Pops series, for instance, is bringing new fans to the concert series and laying the groundwork for involvement by younger listeners and performers. “Encore also offers small ensembles that go out and perform at a number of schools,“ she says. “It‘s good for those schools that don‘t have a budget for music enrichment programs. We have a lot of repeat school requests from those who want us back next year.“
She adds that the heart of Encore will always be its musicians -- people such as Harry Goldson or 82-year-old horn player Jeannette Fehner; Interlochen music instructor Karen Willman; Marshall Music flute instructor Katherine Beier; Martin Van Maanen, a new conductor from Texas; and tuba player David Martin, who served as guest conductor for Encore‘s October concert. Local physicians, the musical instructors of Interlochen and NMC, former university band members and many others give the Encore Society of Music a sense of drive and purpose. And for members, a sense of the eternal youthfulness that only music can provide.