RHS Band and Ridgewood Guild Present a "Community Play-in"

On Saturday, December 14, the Ridgewood Guild invites all
community members to join with the Ridgewood High School Band to play some
holiday music at a Community Play-In. Musicians of all ages and ability levels
are encouraged to bring their instruments to Van Neste Park beginning at
11:30AM for a performance that will start at 12 Noon to open the second weekend
of Winterfest, the Guild’s two weekend downtown event.

Winterfest was started by the Ridgewood Guild in 2010 as an
event to encourage consumer support of local merchants, restaurants and small
businesses during the holiday shopping season. The RHS Band Program has
participated in Winterfest over the past few years, and will continue to do so
with performances by small ensembles such as the brass quintet, saxophone
quartet and clarinet ensemble, but this year directors Jeffrey Haas and John
Luckenbill hope to bring some of the village’s talented (and maybe
not-so-talented) instrumentalists together with the students to produce a
unique Ridgewood event. Community musicians do not need to attend any
rehearsals or pay any participation fees – they simply need to show up with
their instrument, mouthpiece, reeds, etc. and grab a book of music that the
band will provide.

The RHS Marching Band will provide the core ensemble for the
play-in. “The Marching Band is coming off of an exciting season, and we’ve been
really grateful to have had terrific support from the school community,” says
Mr. Luckenbill. “We want to remind village residents that we are more than just
the school band. We’re proud to represent the entire Village of Ridgewood, and
we can’t think of a better way to show that town pride than to invite everyone
to play with us!”  RHS Director of Bands,
Jeffrey Haas, directed the last Community Play-in more than fifteen years ago,
in a performance following the Santa Parade. “When the Santa Parade was
discontinued, we thought that we would not have another

opportunity to hold the play-in again,” said Mr. Haas.
“We’re really happy to team up with the Guild to give it another try.” He went
on to say that “village residents and merchants have been very good to us,
always supporting our poinsettia and citrus sales – we appreciate the support,
so we want to have everyone join us to celebrate by playing some fun, easy music
and by supporting Guild members in their holiday shopping.”

Any community member who plays a brass, woodwind or
percussion instrument is invited to participate in the Community Play-in. The
music is simple enough that children who are fairly new to their instruments should
be able to handle the challenge. Adults who have spent some time (or even
decades) away from their instruments should also be able to participate without
difficulty.

Musicians who are interested in participating in the
Community Play-in are asked to please fill out a brief registration form by
visiting the RHS Band Association website at www.rhsbands.org. Questions should
be directed to Jeffrey Haas at 201-670-2800 x 20639/jhaas@ridgewood.k12.nj.us
or to John Luckenbill at 201-670-2800 x.20744/jluckenbill@ridgewood.k12.nj.us.