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Spotlight On: The Bishop Community Band

Spotlight On:
The Bishop Community Band

As part of our ongoing series, we are interviewing people and places of interest in the area who are having a positive impact on our community.

This time, we reached out to P. Steven Ledesma, Assistant Director of The Bishop Community Band.

Bishop Community Band
Photo courtesy of The Bishop Community Band

How did you end up being involved with the band?

Mark Hatter is the director of the Bishop Community Band, and he’s been the director for well over 30 years. I became his assistant in 2018 while I was the director of the Morro Bay White Caps Community Band. I started playing in the band that year and Director Hatter needed me to substitute for him on one of the summer concerts.

Were you in Bishop at the time?

I was in Bishop because I was teaching Ballroom, Latin and Club dancing to a private club and eventually started group lessons at C5 before Covid shut us down. Hatter had a band camp obligation so I finished the 2018 concert season as his assistant. The band usually ceases operations after Labor Day, but so many band members wanted to continue into the early fall that I continued directing until the end of September.

Are you still splitting your time between Bishop and Morro Bay?

Hatter directs through Labor Day and I take over for August and September. Fuel costs forced me to resign from Morro Bay since I had to travel every weekend for their rehearsals and concerts. So I only direct in Bishop now.

What type of music do you play?

We play a wide variety of music, everything from Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, the Beach Boys, Ray Charles, the Bangles, Beatles, Joe Cocker, Bon Jovi, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, the Blues Brothers, and music from musicals and movies too. We even sprinkle in marches byJohn Philip Sousa and from current streaming shows like The Mandalorian. And that isn’t even HALF of the artists that we perform!

bishop community band
Photo: Jeanne Hartman

When can people expect to find you?

We’ve moved our concerts to 7 pm on Monday evenings, and have many of the public that come early to hear our 6:15 rehearsals. We are adding even more new music for next season!

The band has been growing and even more of our local high school and middle school students have joined our ranks. Students get community service credit for participation and our members come from as far away as Lone Pine and Ridgecrest to perform with us!

bishop community band
Photo: Jeanne Hartman

I know we’re late in the season, but do you have any more concerts planned for this summer?

We have two more concerts on Monday at 7 pm (rehearsals at 6:45) for this 2024 season!

A special thank you to P. Steven Ledesma for answering our questions!

Bishop Community Band
Photo courtesy of The Bishop Community Band

Catch more “Spotlight On” here.

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