Community bands in the United States trace their lineage to the English brass bands of the early 19th century. It is unknown when the first brass band was founded in England, but two of the oldest are the Besses O' The Barn Brass Band and the Black Dyke Mills Brass Band. By 1860 there were more than 700 brass bands in England. Brass bands were quite common in the states by the time of the Civil War. Although brass bands were an important part of life in nineteenth-century America, they were superseded by larger concert and marching bands in the early years of the 20th century. The historical brass band typically consisted of eleven cornets, one flugelhorn, three tenor horns, two baritones, two euphoniums, two tenor trombones, one bass trombone, four tubas, and three percussionists. Around The Sound Band (ATSB) is a prime example of the extended heritage of the brass band. It not only includes the historically influenced lineup of trumpets, trombones, tubas, french horns, baritones, and percussion, but also includes clarinets, saxophones, and flutes. The addition of the expressive wind instruments places the band squarely in the concert band milieu.
The genesis of ATSB was a Shorecrest High School student who, as her senior project, started an adult beginning band. When the project was concluded the members continued on and ATSB was founded in late 1999 as Community Bands Northwest. In 2007 the name was officially changed to the Around The Sound Community Band. Its first director was John Law, a music program specialist and teacher with the Shoreline School District. He passed the baton onto director Mike Irons, a middle school band teacher, late in 2002. In early 2008 the baton was passed to Michael Alstad, an executive director for two local music organizations. For more information on Mike Alstad see his biography page. Shorecrest High School science teacher, Vince Santo Pietro, was the band's coordinator from 1999 until Spring of 2002 when a board of directors was formed. The organization reached a critical milestone in 2003 when it became a non-profit organization with a board of directors.
Since 1999, the ATSB has maintained a stable core of players numbering between 30 and 40 musicians. This dedicated group practices hard and meets once a week to hone their skills and prepare for concerts. The organization has performed numerous concerts including several years at the North City Tree Lighting ceremony, holiday concerts at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, and at retirement homes, civic celebrations and parades. The ATSB performs a wide range of concert band, marching, and other types of music.
Thanks to historian Dale Stirling for contributing to this article.
