Reno Road Trip Announcement in the Delta Optimist

The well-traveled Delta Music Makers Concert Band is on the move again!  This local adult concert band is on its way to Nevada, where the group will perform 3 concerts amidst a week of fun, shows, and music.

According to Conductor Curt Jantzen, only 20 band members are actually able to get vacation-time for this trip.  “Normally we’re a 55-piece concert band, so it’s an entirely different experience to play in an ensemble of twenty – a learning experience!”  Jantzen and the small group have selected an excellent concert line-up, and will feature their crowd-pleasing vocalist, Maureen Toronitz, on several tunes.

The Delta Music Makers Concert Band is a dedicated group of 55 adult musicians.  As well as the occasional out of town experience, they enjoy performing frequently in the Delta area.  Upcoming performances, for example, include the Ladner Private Hospital on March 4 and July 1, the Delta Hospital on March 11, Metrotown Centre on April 22, a variety of spring and summer concerts in Delta parks, and probable gigs at Ladner Market and other locations.  These will be well-publicized.

Last November the group had the honour of performing at The Farmer’s Ball in Ladner, and in September offered a variety of concerts at Whistler Village during a beautiful late-summer weekend. 

 Approximately every third year the Delta Music Makers embark on a major concert tour.  After enjoying a magical tour through the United Kingdom in 1999, plans are currently underway for Germany/Switzerland/Austria/ Prague in August 2002, and the Canadian Maritime Provinces in September of 2004.  “All tour costs are borne by the participants,” explains Ladner resident Jantzen. “We receive no grants or sponsorships for travel.  These wonderful people enjoy traveling and playing music together, so they arrange their vacation time and their personal finances accordingly.”

Departure day for Nevada is March 17 when the 20 musicians plus 15 friends and family board the Maverick Coach for a week of Nevada fun.  The first concert is planned for Jantzen Beach Center in Oregon, followed by gigs in Sparks and Reno Nevada, and possibly Lake Tahoe, California.

“The best concert is at the car museum!” declares drummer Hugh Martell. Car buffs among the group are looking forward to a concert on March 21 at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, which houses the famous Harrah’s Car Collection.

This well-liked local band has attracted wide attention in the music-education world due to its unique origin; it was written up in The Instrumentalist, a world-wide education magazine out of Chicago, for example.  

Mr. Jantzen, in the early 1980’s, offered a night-school course for beginner adults, those who had never played a musical instrument.  It proved successful and popular, so after starting 3 more beginner-bands over the years, Jantzen eventually melded them into one large concert band, the present Delta Music Makers.

Jhandie Jantzen, Curt’s diminutive wife, plays tuba in the original beginners.  “Of course,” says Mrs. Jantzen, “many players have dropped out and others have joined up over the years, but we’ve never forgotten our origin.”  The original members have always created a truly welcoming atmosphere for player and audience alike.  “Although we constantly pursue musical excellence, that will never detract from our true reason for being together: musical and social enjoyment!”