First United Presbyterian Church Community Jazz Band

Our Origin Story

The FUPCT Community Jazz Band was started in January 2020 by a recent college grad who was dying to get back into playing music in a group setting. There were no local jazz groups who had an opening for a regular spot (non-sub) in their saxophone section, so with the help and support of her church family, she decided to start her own group!

The whole idea behind having this group is to create a FUN place for local musicians to continue playing in a low-pressure environment. The group is free to join, open to all, and relatively low-commitment.

Until we get things rolling, this is a rehearsal only group that does not officially “perform”. As we grow, we may plan to have seasonal concerts at the church that are free and open to the public.

Membership & Rehearsals

Membership is first come, first serve until we fill the band. If there is an overwhelming amount of interest, we can look into rotating seats or adding extra rehearsal opportunities to allow more people to participate!

Current openings:
(2) Tenor Saxophone
(1) Bari Saxophone
(4-5) Trombone
(4-5) Trumpet
(1) Drumset
(1) Percussion

Rehearsals will be during the 2nd and 4th week of the month, in the evening on a weekday (exact day/time TBA) at First United Presbyterian Church of Tarentum (address below), unless otherwise noted due to church events or holidays. Rehearsals are open to the public, and if all seats are filled for the day then you are welcome to stay and listen or rotate out/double up as space permits.

Members are asked to let the band leader know at least 24 hours before rehearsal (when possible) if they are unable to attend as a courtesy to the rest of the band. This allows us time to find a sub so we can still have a full band at rehearsal! 🙂

Music & Part Assignments

This is the part where we need your help! Being a new group with very little funding, we currently don’t have a way to purchase music. We ask (but do not require) that each member provides a couple charts of varying difficulty level and style to build a group library. We will keep these charts separated by part and numbered in folders* to allow easy pulling for rehearsals, so please do not bring your only copy of your chart! We also welcome (and encourage!) original compositions.

*Folders will be distributed at the beginning and collected at the end of each rehearsal to ensure they are always available at rehearsals.

As far as parts go, we know that you know your abilities. We want everyone to feel comfortable on the parts that they are playing, so parts will not be assigned. Each player is welcome to play any part that they are comfortable with. Keep in mind that this is a group created to enjoy jazz and play with others! We encourage switching parts between songs to allow everyone the opportunity to play every part!

Ready to Join? Have some Questions?

Come Visit!

FUPCT Jazz Band
913 Lock Street, Tarentum, PA 15084
Rehearsals 2nd and 4th *day* from *time-time* PM (TBA)