The band plays on in Valley Stream

A lot has changed in the Valley Stream community since 1953, but the Valley Stream Community Band, which is celebrating its 60th season of summer concerts this year, has remained a constant source of fun, free and professional entertainment for residents for the last six decades.

The band is currently made up of more than 70 members and plays songs from a multitude of genres. The band is co-sponsored by the Central High School District Board of Education and the Village Board of Trustees. On July 24 at the John M. Smith Bandshell on the Village Green, band members, conductor Todd Holly and an estimated 200 people celebrated 60 years of the Community Band in Valley Stream.

Valerie Esposito said she can remember attending concerts at the Village Green while growing up in Valley Stream and even played percussion in the band for a summer after she graduated from Central High School in 1960. “It’s part of the community,” she said. “Years ago the whole town went. It was really the place to be.”

The size of the crowds might have dipped in recent years, but there are still plenty of loyal listeners who attend as many summer performances as they can each year.

Jules Rabin and his wife Sylvia have been attending concerts at the Village Green for 50 years. “The music is certainly professional, the selections are well done and we enjoy it a lot,” Rabin said. “Not too many communities have this kind of cooperation between the school district and the village, so it’s nice.”

Holly, the Central High School District’s coordinator of fine and performing arts, has been a member of the band since 1989 and took over as conductor in 2008. “It’s very rewarding to be able to work with such a wide variety of people with all different professions,” he said. “It’s great for the older members to work alongside the younger members and produce great music.”