Dripping Springs community band begins

DRIPPING SPRINGS  — Adults in Dripping Springs are playing to a new tune, as they dust off their instruments for the new community band.

A lot of other cities, such as Wimberley and Austin, have community bands, said member John Tullis, but Dripping Springs was lacking this creative outlet. According to Tullis, the idea stemmed from a parent band project put on by the Dripping Springs High School band for the holidays.

“I think this was the second or third year that they had a parent band that gets together and they play a couple of Christmas songs at the student holiday concert. So, I joined the parent band and dusted off my saxophone,” explained Tullis. “Everybody [was] a little shy and nervous at first, but at the concert, man, it was great.”

Afterwards, the director for the band, Kenny Vise, reached out to the participants and asked if anyone wanted to continue. Tullis shared that everyone had so much fun at the holiday concert that they wanted to open up the opportunity to all adults in the city, not only parents of students in the program.

“Everybody says they’re excited. They think it’s a cool thing,” shared Tullis. “I’m doing it because [it’s] a creative outlet. I love music; I love to play music [and] I’ve been super inspired by my son being in the high school band. Like, ‘Yes, let’s do this again.’ I think it’s just exciting for people to get back into something that they may not have done for a long time.”

Rehearsals will take place at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday in the Orchestra Hall at DSHS. The first meeting was Feb. 10, but community members are welcome to join at any point.

All adults are welcomed, he continued, as long as they are able to play their instrument and read music. So far, there have been approximately 40-50 people that have signed up, following Tullis’s social media posts.

Currently, the group is beginning to work on a few pieces to perform at the annual Dripping Springs Founders Day Festival April 25-26, but Tullis stated that they hope to do several performances a year.

“Don’t be shy; don’t be nervous. We were all out of tune and trying to figure it out, but in the end, it was amazing. So, show up and just meet your neighbors and make some noise together,” concluded Tullis.

To learn more information or to find out how to sign up, visit www.facebook.com/dstxband or email [email protected].