For the last 32 years, a love of music has brought together a diverse group of Southlake-area residents to perform free concerts for the local community. Members  include doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, airline pilots and stay-at-home moms with ages ranging from recent college graduates to retirees, and these talented musicians of the Southlake Community Band find joy in being part of a band again.

“We just really enjoy playing music,” says Jay Bach, music director and conductor of the Southlake Community Band since 2018. Bach served 30 years as director of bands and fine arts department chair for Carroll ISD.

Made up of more than 70 amateur musicians, the group plays an average of six free concerts per year.

“Whenever the city of Southlake asks us to play, we try to be available,” Bach says.

The Southlake Community Band performs at events across Southlake.

Southlake Mayor Shawn McCaskill calls the band “an integral part of our community’s biggest events,” noting the band plays at various events like Stars and Stripes, Veterans Day and Home for the Holidays: Christmastime in Southlake. 

“Whether it is patriotic music or holiday favorites, the Southlake Community Band provides the small-town charm that welcomes and entertains our residents and our visitors,” McCaskill says. 

Psychologist Beth Roberts-Lusby has been a member of the Southlake Community Band for more than eight years. She hadn’t played her flute in 25 years, but picked it back up once her daughters left for college.

“It is purely an enjoyable hobby,” Roberts-Lusby says. “There are some players that have music degrees and are really quite good, and there are other players like I was that were coming back to music after a break.”

The band rehearses Monday nights at Carroll Senior High School Fine Arts Center. Bach says that new members, ages 18 and older, are always welcome and no auditions are required.

Roberts-Lusby’s husband, alto saxophone player Ron Roberts, joined the band in 2006. A structural engineer with his own firm, Roberts says “it’s the people you get to meet” that is his favorite part of being in the band. He also enjoys the therapeutic aspects of musicianship. 

“You aren’t worried about work, worried about a project,” he says. “I think it clears your brain.”

Bach says that most musicians stay in the band five to 10 years, and there are still a few founding members performing with the band.

Roberts-Lusby says she and her husband plan to perform with the band for years to come. She finds the opportunity for multigenerational friendships a bonus. 

“There are people our age and there are younger people straight out of college,” she says.

Members of all ages enjoy playing music together.

In 1997, members of the community band formed the Southlake Swing Band. The swing band plays Big Band favorites and jazz standards on the patio at Southlake’s Central Market twice per year, as well as private functions. They rehearse Monday nights after the community band.

Retired airline pilot Larry Abernathy plays tuba in the community band and both upright and electric bass in the swing band. He also serves as the director of the swing band, selecting the music and conducting. 

“I’ve been involved in music since I was 14,” Abernathy says. “It’s one of those rare activities you can enjoy through your entire life.”