Quincy Park Band launches $300,000 fundraising effort for new stage in Madison Park

QUINCY — The Quincy Park Band has been around for 77 years, and its stage has been around for 30 years. The electrical system is going out, the hydraulics raising the roof are failing and the floor is starting to rot.

The Park Band announced during a press conference on Thursday afternoon at Madison Park that, in collaboration with the Quincy Park District, it is raising money for a permanent stage to be located where the temporary stage is now in the park. It will be flat on the ground with an acoustic roof, providing shelter from the elements and the ability to enhance the music. The area can be enjoyed by non-musicians when not in use.

“We did travel (to perform in other locations) … but eventually, over the years … Madison Park kind of became our home,” conductor John Hume said. He occasionally joins the band with a trumpet.

The Quincy Park Band is hoping to raise $300,000. People can go to qcyparkband.com or send money to Beers Tax Service to donate. This season’s concerts will each feature a local celebrity as emcee, drumming up support while hoping to raise the most money.

“The Park Band exists solely on donations,” Park Band President and trumpet player Jeff Schuecking said.

All of the Park Band’s concerts are free. Their season opens with a show featuring patriotic music on Memorial Day. Shows are on Sundays for the rest of the summer, always commencing at 6:30 p.m.

Audience members bring their picnic blankets and lawn chairs, or stroll and play with their kids, while serenaded with live music.

The concert band ranges from high schoolers to those who graduated high school a long, long time ago. At any given concert, the band ranges from 50-80 members.

Mary Demers, Quincy Park Band Secretary and trumpet player, has been in the band since high school.

“We love music,” she said. “It’s fun, and it’s a way of giving back to the community.”

Annie C. Reller is a Seattle native and a recent Stanford graduate working as an intern for Muddy River News this spring.