Love of music celebrated at Three Rivers Band Festival

Performers came from across the region and from out of state for the free performance.

By BRIAN C. RITTMEYER
TribLive

A new band assembled, rehearsed, performed and disbanded within hours Saturday — all for the love of community music.

The 2026 Festival Band, made up of more than 100 musicians from 62 musical groups from around the region, was the lead performance for the 20th annual Three Rivers Community Band Festival. The free event was held in the auditorium at Franklin Regional High School.

The Scottdale Concert Band, Community Band South and East Winds Symphonic Band also performed. The East Winds Symphonic Band Saxophones performed in the lobby for guests as they arrived.

The tradition of community bands, which have faded in some areas, remains strong in Western Pennsylvania, said Chris Marra, an associate professor of music and director of instrumental activities at Seton Hill University in Greensburg who conducted the festival band.

“This is very grass roots and organic. We’re doing it out of passion and love for it,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see all these groups supporting each other.”

This year’s festival band was the largest in the history of the event, said Marra, 43, of North Huntingdon. Marra jumped at the chance to conduct it for the first time.

“I have to try to make something out of nothing in three hours,” he said. “Normally it would be challenging. Today they showed up prepared, eager and ready to be adaptable. It was easy.”

Many of those performing, such as Mark Weber, 64, of Murrysville, have been playing music since grade school.

“I have played since the fifth grade,” said Weber, who grew up in the state of Indiana and got hooked on music after the Indianapolis Symphony visited his school. “I took snare drum lessons that summer and haven’t quit.”

When he’s not working as an engineer for Westinghouse, Weber performs with the East Winds Symphonic Band. On Saturday, he was the section lead percussion for the festival band.

The members of the festival band showed up in the morning and rehearsed for three hours before taking the stage.

“I love it. It’s nice,” Weber said. “You get to play different pieces you didn’t play before.”

Bethany Manhollan and her husband, Tony, were among eight members of the Canfield County (Ohio) Concert Band that came to be part of the festival band.

Bethany was second flute for the festival band, while Tony was on trumpet. She’s played flute since middle school.

“I like being able to provide joy through music,” said Bethany, 48, who lives in Boardman, Ohio, and works as a Target cashier.

She was looking forward to playing with a larger ensemble.

“It’s nice to play with a full sound and with instruments I don’t see all the time,” she said. “It makes it easier to have a full orchestration.”

Jeff Callen, a retired engineer from Shaler, belongs to the North Pittsburgh Symphonic Band. He was also second flute in the festival band, which he was part of for the second time.

Callen, 69, began playing flute when he was in grade school.

“I’ve always loved music,” he said. “It’s fun to play, and it’s also more fun when you play with other people.”

Because they have only one rehearsal, Callen said the music that the festival band plays is not technically challenging. It’s up to the conductor to make it work.

“The music is much more than the notes on the page,” Callen said. “It’s the way the conductor pulls out the emotion in it — loud/soft, fast/ slow — so that we make music and not just play notes.”

The musical journey for most of those in community bands can be traced back to elementary school, Marra said. Even if they stop playing for years — to raise a family, have a career — many can rediscover it as easily as riding a bicycle.

“It’s more than just a fun hobby. It’s that, too. It’s a sense of belonging, a shared emotional journey,” he said. “It’s that human connection. Music does that better than anything else.”