By Olivia Consuelo Ramos
Correspondent
The Blawenburg Band, a non-profit community band based in Blawenburg, New Jersey, will debut its 135th anniversary concert at Kendall Hall on May 18.
In addition to celebrating the band’s formation, the concert will acknowledge conductor Jerry Rife’s 40th year with the band. Their anniversary concert will incorporate and debut musical pieces written by John Anastasio ‘69, who will be performing.
The concert will include the Spanish song “Granada,” Irish tune, British sweet movement, selections from the musical “Les Miserable,” an opera overture, a flute solo, a salute to the U.S. Navy and the Armed Forces, and a march dedicated to the Gold Lions Society, written by Anastasio.
The Gold Lions Society consists of alumni who have graduated from the College 50 years ago. This will be the first time the march has been performed, and it will highlight the College’s alma mater song, as well as a piece from Phi Mu Alpha’s song, the College’s music fraternity.
“My membership in the Phi Mu Alpha fraternity continues to this day and I have the pleasure of meeting with the collegiate brothers at TCNJ and taking part in many of their activities throughout the year,” Anastasio said. “My life would never have been as rich and fulfilling without the wonderful time I've spent and continue to spend at the school.”
Anastasio, who graduated from the College with a bachelor’s degree in music education, was very involved with the fraternity during his time at the College. After graduating, he served on the board of the Alumni Association for eight years. He is currently a part of the Gold Lion’s Society.
“It was the real beginning of my life as a musician and an educator. It was at the College that I learned the skills that enabled me to become a member of the Air Force band program and travel extensively” Anastasio said.
William Fernekes, a trombone player who is on the band’s grants and fundraising committee, encouraged Anastasio to join the band while they were both employed as teachers at Hunterdon Central Regional High School.
After visiting one of the band’s rehearsals and coming to another one to play his clarinet, Anaswas asked to be the concertmaster by Rife. Afterwards, he began to arrange and create the musical composition for the band, which he still does regularly.
“A lot of long-time players…keep coming back to the band year after year, decade after decade,” Rife said. “I find that to be really gratifying because they’re having a good time…I do some talking on the podium but we really just play music and people wanna play music.”
The band’s humble beginning dates back to 1890, where it originated in a village with a blacksmith shop and church to practice in. The band started as a brass ensemble with some drums included and has expanded in size and instruments.
Today, there are 75 total musicians in the Blawenburg Band, and they currently practice in the Princeton Montessori school. They perform around 20 to 25 concerts every year and many of these performances are played during the summer.
“Music has always allowed me to do something new, do something different, go someplace I’ve never been before, meet new people, make new friends,” Anastasio said.
