,
No
Strings Attached
Community Band
Sudbury
Ontario
Canada
Welcome to our Band...
What's New! New members always welcome! Click here to learn about our June 7th concert at the Bell Park Gazebo...plus other news & photos...
Who are We?
We are the No Strings Attached Community Band (NSACB) of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
The NSACB is a non-profit community band composed entirely of volunteer musicians. Our band is the only community concert band serving the Sudbury area. We currently represent the largest group of amateur instrumental musicians in the Sudbury region (view map of Sudbury).
Our Mission
The No Strings band offers the opportunity for local amateur musicians in Sudbury of all ages, "from high school students to retirees," to perform in a full concert band ensemble. We offer a unique performance perspective to the Sudbury arts community, due to our novel repertoire and mandate. [see pic below from our Dec. '08 Christmas concert at Cambrian]
The NSACB is also a non-profit community organization which is sanctioned and supported by the City of Greater Sudbury and the Sudbury Arts Council, as well as through a grant with the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Part of the band's mission is to promote band
music locally as well as to educate the public about wind instruments. Our band performs
free-of-charge at locations throughout Sudbury from September to June. Our
repertoire includes a diverse
selection...ranging from Gustav Holst to a Disney medley!
In the past, our band has typically donated the proceeds raised from our concerts to various local charities, such as the Elgin St. Mission and the Rockhaven Recovery Home for Men. Our recent Cambrian Christmas concert, for example, raised approx. $325 for the Sudbury Food Bank. Our April 26th, 2009 Kid's Concert at Lockerby high school raised $710 for the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer.
Our children's concert on April 15th 2007 at Fraser auditorium raised over $1,200 for the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth. Other deserving charities which have received our donations, include: the Samaritan Centre, Genevra House, the Easter Seals, and the Jeff Stewart Benefit Concert fund.
Membership
The No Strings Attached band gives
local brass, woodwind and percussion players the opportunity to get together
and make music in a fun and accepting atmosphere.
Our group attempts to
improve the skill levels of its less-experienced players through an active program of mentorship. Our members
range in age from about 15 to 70.
Some of our players had never played their instruments for decades before joining our band, whereas others may perform regularly in their high school bands. Some of our high school students joined us because they were looking for a musical environment that was more challenging than that provided by their own high school ensembles.
Other members joined us because they wanted to remain active in music but couldn't find a band to play in after high school. This would include some college and university students as well as members from the general public who simply enjoy playing music...Our membership is just as diverse as the people who make up our community!
Our History
Our band,
which is about to begin its 10th
season, originally got its start as a
Laurentian
University- Huntington College
thesis project in the Fall of 2000. The first rehearsal was held on
September 27th, 2000 at
Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School.
Our 
first
concert took place on January 29th, 2001 at Huntington College.
In some of our early seasons, our rehearsals were held at the Jarrett Centre or at Churchill Public School; however, since the Fall of 2004, we have been situated more-or-less permanently at Lo-Ellen.
In 2003, the band became a registered non-profit charitable organization. In June of that same year this website was launched.
In 2004, the NSACB received a generous grant from the
Ontario
Trillium Foundation to help purchase percussion equipment. Also in 2004,
the NSACB awarded its first annual bursary to a deserving local music student.
In 2005, our band participated in the annual Northern Ontario Music Festival (NOMFest) and received a silver medal.
In it's early years, the NSACB numbered as few as 12-15 members. Currently however, there are around 30 musicians in the group. The band's conductor and musical director since its inception has always been Sandra McMillan.
Contact Us
Our rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings, between 7 to 9 pm, at
Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School
(on Loach's Rd.).
You are welcome to sit in and listen to us rehearse.
If you are interested in joining our band, or if you wish to book the band for an upcoming gig, or if you simply wish to find out more about the group, please contact Sandra McMillan at (705) 523-5627, or at slkmcmillan@yahoo.ca (members who wish to contact Sandra in order to provide suggestions for improving our band may also reach her by e-mail).
If you wish to make a tax-deductible financial donation to the band, you may contact our Treasurer, Linda Berger, at (705) 523-1024. You may also contact the Webmaster to submit pictures and comments at gbschaut@sympatico.ca.
Partners/Affiliates
The NSACB actively supports other organizations, which in turn support local musicians. This would include, for example, the 5-Penny New Music Concerts website, which showcases up-and-coming local performers & composers.
We also encourage the public to view the webpage for the Jubilee Folk Ensemble, a Sudbury-based non-profit string ensemble that embraces multicultural folk music. Please visit our Links page to access other local music-related organizations online.
The
No Strings Attached Community Band of Sudbury is generously supported by an
annual civic
arts
grant
from the City of Greater Sudbury
(Tourism, Culture & Marketing Sect.), a community grant from
the
Ontario Trillium Foundation, as well as through a membership in the Sudbury Arts
Council. Additional capital funding has been provided by the local chapter of
the IODE and the City
of Greater Sudbury's Ward 10 "Neighbourhood Participation
Projects" budget.
If you have any questions about this site, or suggestions for improvement, please contact George Schaut at gbschaut@sympatico.ca.
This site was created by G. Schaut using MS FrontPage (the site is best viewed with a 1024 x 768 screen resolution or lower). The site was launched on June 17, 2003. The contents of this site are the property of the No Strings Attached Community Band of Sudbury and are intended solely for non-commercial use.
We encourage webmasters to include a link to us in their sites. Please report any broken links to our Webmaster. All external links open up into new windows (the NSACB is not responsible for the content of these external sites). You may submit any digital pictures of our band to the Webmaster.
Excellent low-cost web hosting for this site is provided by 1sthostweb.com.
[Site last updated: July 2/09]
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