Monroe band plays on

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, January 16, 2008

MONROE, Wash. – Once in a band, always in a band.

Love for music brings Janice Peloquin of Marysville to Monroe every Thursday. Peloquin drives about 40 minutes to get to New Hope Fellowship, where the Monroe Community Concert Band practices.

Peloquin, 54, takes her clarinet out of the case and starts to play.

Then, music takes care of everything.

It brings back happy memories of her days in the Arlington High School band: band trips she took, football games she attended and the best band friends she had.

Music takes her away from her daily hassles.

It makes her happy.

“I loved the band. I loved the high school,” said Peloquin, who raised two boys with her husband, Tom.

The concert band provides a haven for parents, grandparents and young professionals, all volunteers. Weekly practice in Monroe draws about 40 players from Stanwood, Granite Falls, Snohomish, Marysville, Gold Bar, Everett, Duvall and Arlington.

Sponsored by the Monroe Arts Council, the band started about three years ago as an outlet for adults who played instruments in school. After people step into the real world, many of them find it difficult to find the place and time to continue playing, said Bill Habetler, the band’s director.

Band members take their music seriously. They hold five or six concerts per year.

“The atmosphere is hopefully laid back and low key,” Habetler, 64, of Duvall said. “People come here because they want to play.”

The band has grown since its inception, but it still needs more members, Habetler said.

“It’s a voluntary thing,” he said. “People get sick, and people have family commitments. Our biggest challenge is really the numbers, having enough people.”

Tom Connerton, 53, of Stanwood plays saxophone and has recruited members.

“The door is always open,” he said. “It’s like riding a bike. I thought I couldn’t do it again. Here I am doing it after 22 years in the Navy as an aviation storekeeper.”

The community band has its own strength. The musicians’ maturity brings wisdom. They know how to laugh at their own mistakes and move on. They focus on process and don’t dwell on results.

The band held its holiday concert on Dec. 8 at the First Presbyterian Church in Everett. A few minutes before the concert was supposed to begin, about 30 players tested their instruments backstage.

They didn’t have enough time to get ready, but that was OK.

“Let’s walk out there and tell them we are not ready,” Habetler said, drawing laughter.

On the stage, they practiced a little bit and started playing “Christmas Festival.”

Then, the music took care of everything.