Photo by Jessica N. Rex Members of the Kinzua Community Band are pictured here after rehearsal at the Salvation Army. After a very well received concert in December, the band will hold their free spring concert on April 28 featuring pop and patriotic songs.

Gary Finger has been playing the cornet since sixth grade.

The Kinzua Community Band gives Finger, the band’s oldest member, a new challenge after spending years occasionally playing in church and Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign locations.

“I just thought I’d try it out because I knew the directors were really good,” Finger said.

Finger said it was fun to play with a band again after nearly 50 years. Finger moved to Warren for work at Warren General Hospital and is a retired lab worker. He shared that he feels challenged, in that he has to play precisely compared to playing solo where he can take his own leisurely pace.

“Some of the music is difficult for the trumpets and these trumpeters that I play with are really really good. It’s a challenge for an old guy to practice outside of the Tuesday night rehearsals,” Finger said.

Finger has played TAPS Across America every Memorial Day since it started in 2020. He chooses a different location each year and in the past that includes atop of Mt. Washington Park. Kinzua Dam or Kinzua Beach is on his mind for this year’s Memorial Day tribute on Monday, May 26 at 3 p.m. For more information visit www.tapsacrossamerica.org

The Kinzua Community Band will hold a free spring concert on April 28 at 7 p.m. at the Salvation Army located on Beech Street, Warren. The band formed in October held its first free concert in December. Donations are welcomed and benefit the Red Kettle Campaign. The band includes members of all ages, from Finger to Eric Woodin, an eighth-grader at Youngsville Middle School. Woodin said Cindy Scheid’s participation as director was a reason he joined. He said that if she was directing a band, he wanted to be a part of it. Woodin began playing his trumpet in sixth grade. Without Mrs. Scheid he would not be the trumpet player that he is and misses her greatly, he said.

Co-director Marcia White said that when she retired last year, she was looking forward to relaxing, crafting and sleeping in, but she soon found out how much she truly missed making music every day. Seeing the creative process from beginning to end was a blessing that she loved.

“When this whole thing started, I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually show up and when they did, we just ran with it,” White said. “I am still amazed that we come together just once a week and can accomplish so much. Seeing my former students again has been an added bonus.”

Scheid said she has enjoyed the reconnection with her students both from many years ago as well as some that are still in school.

“It’s also been great to meet and work with musicians that I am meeting for the first time. It’s great to make music,” Scheid said.

The Kinzua Community Band welcomes all musicians to join. Rehearsals are Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Salvation Army. Contact White for more information at marciatq@me.com.