We often hear of big-time celebrity musicians putting on benefit concerts to help out after a natural disaster or some other tragedy. Thousands of people buy up the tickets – no matter the cost – in short order to be part of that help.
The Freese Brothers Big Band, right here in the Granite State, plays nothing but benefit shows, and the best part is you never have to pay anything to attend them. There also doesn’t need to be some terrible incident – thankfully – to incite the shows; it’s just what the band does.
The Freese Brothers Big Band, now in its 36th season, brings classic swing and big-band music to communities all over New Hampshire – all while raising money to provide scholarships to local students who want to pursue higher levels of music education.
All of the shows are free for the public to attend, but the band still needs to bring in some money to put in the Freese Brothers Big Band Memorial Scholarship Fund. The money ends up coming from sponsors, whether from the corporate world or the public sector, said David Tirrell-Wysocki, tenor sax player and vice president of the band.
“The way it works is, we send out notices in the late winter/spring to high schools to make them aware of the scholarship fund, and typically we award scholarships to high school underclassmen – freshmen, sophomores and juniors – to go away to music summer camp,” Tirrell-Wysocki said.
Kids can choose any camp they want, but a popular one is the Summer Youth Music School at UNH, a “very highly regarded program, and many of our scholarship recipients have attended that school, but others have gone to programs around the Northeast and the rest of the country,” Tirrell-Wysocki said. “It’s a great way to help student musicians get great exposure to music instruction and bring it back to their community and back to the high school.
The scholarship fund was started in 1986, and since then 157 scholarships have been awarded, totaling more than $61,000. That’s a lot of music summer camps.
Though a summer camp isn’t exactly Juilliard or Berklee, it’s an important resource for young musicians looking to fine-tune their skills. Plus, the band doesn’t quite have the fundraising power to support college scholarships, though they would love to, Tirrell-Wysocki said.
If you haven’t heard the 20-piece band before, you’d be well-served to check out a show. They play recognizable hits from legends like Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, the Dorsey Brothers and Glenn Miller, plus some more contemporary tunes specially arranged for Big Band performances.
They just kicked off their summer session, and here’s where/when you can see them next:
Thursday, 7 to 9 p.m., Eagle Square.
July 11, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Presidential Oaks Retirement Community.
July 30, 6 to 8 p.m., Bow Rotary Summer Concert Series at the Bandstand.
There are also several shows this summer in Manchester and a few other locations, so if you feel like making a little trip, go to freesebrothersbigband.com to see a full schedule.
