Craven Community Concert Band (CCCB) provides a musical service to the community by giving instrumental musicians of all ages the opportunity to come together and enjoy performing a variety of music. The CCCB encourages students and experienced musicians to learn from one another in a positive, supportive environment. As a volunteer organization, they strive for musical excellence while ensuring that music-making remains an enjoyable experience for both the performers and the audience. By presenting several concerts each year, they carry on the long-standing tradition of community bands in the New Bern and Craven County area.
CCCB provides joyful, free concert to the New Bern community three times a year: the Holiday Concert (December 9 at Grover C. Fields Middle School), the Winter Concert (March at Grover C. Fields Middle School), and the Spring Concert (May 17 at Union Point Park). The band plays a wide variety of music, including marches, standard band repertoire, orchestral transcriptions, big band jazz, country music, Motown, funk, rock and roll, medleys from musicals, and, of course, holiday music for the first concert of the season.
Founded in 2000 by the late Dr. Robert Bianco, the Craven Community Concert Band has been enriching Eastern North Carolina’s cultural life for over two decades. Over the years, leadership has passed through several talented conductors including Brad Langhans, Mark Lorek, Gunnery Sgt. Mitch Martin, Mike Laird, Joe Olivieri, and Matt Farquhar. Since 2015, Mitch Martin has returned to lead the band, continuing its proud legacy of musical excellence.
He shares, “We have the honor of continuing, preserving, and growing the music that will always be a part of our country’s fabric. Each Monday night rehearsal is a step in a magical journey. Watching individual musicians grow and seeing the group transform into one cohesive ensemble brings me immense joy. Each concert takes on a life of its own.”
The band serves as a welcoming environment for wind and percussion musicians of all skill levels to rehearse weekly, enhance their musical abilities, and enjoy fellowship through music. To join the band, there is no audition required; just visit the website and clink on the “join now” link. Rehearsals are Mondays from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm at New Bern High School. Most people are players that have come back to performing after being gone for a time, such as band directors, music teachers, professional musicians, and retirees.
The CCCB currently has approximately 61 people ranging in ages from 15 to 87. Because of the wide range in the ages of the performers, mentorship becomes an important part of the organization—and it works both ways. Director Mitch Martin says, “It is not uncommon for the older, more experienced players in the group to provide helpful advice for the purposes of musical growth as well as personal growth. Additionally, the younger people see how adults interact with each other as people and not parental units. As the season progresses, the younger people get much more comfortable talking with the adults. Musical topics continue to grow and then conversations go off into different directions. As a result, the younger generation help the older generation with a better understanding of their perspective on life. They are eager to learn and the questions they ask can be extremely thought provoking.”
The CCCB relies on the generous cooperation of the New Bern–Craven County School System and Mr. Chris Elbing, Band Director at New Bern High School, who allows CCCB to use the school’s facilities and percussion equipment. “We are very grateful,” says Mitch Martin. “Without this partnership, our music would not be possible.”