Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Win an XBOX 360 & Red Octane Guitar Hero III with Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller for Xbox 360.

Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Music & Arts presents The TEEN GARAGE BAND Contest 3 sponsored by Ibanez, Tama & YAMAHA.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 - Frederick brass band wins national award — again

	Photo by Doug Koontz Soloist Frank Gorecki, left, and director John Slezak represent the Spires Brass Band, which recently won its fourth NorthAmerican Brass Band Association championship.
	IF YOU GO The Spires Brass Band will present a concert at 8 p.m. May 24 at the Jack B. Kussmaul Theater at Frederick Community College. For details, visit www.spiresbrassband.org

The first three trophies and banners were won in odd-numbered years — 2001, 2003, and 2005.

"We broke the string," the band's founder and director, John Slezak, said of the latest win.

Slezak is proud of his adult band of 32 members. It includes some people he taught during 22 years at Frederick High School. One of those students, Randy Rumpf, is now director of the Tuscarora High School band.

Slezak formed the band, named for the many spires in Frederick, in October 1993, the year before he retired from teaching at Frederick High School.

"They're good players," he said.

One of the band members, Frank Gorecki, brought home a first place trophy from the NABBA championship for his "High Brass Slow Melody" solo performance.

The entire band of 28 brass and four percussion instruments won its award in the Challenge Section of the championship, held at Indiana University.

A trumpet player since he learned the instrument as a boy, Slezak has a wide range of tastes. He also enjoys special arrangements that are done for the band.

"There's good country, jazz, classical, big band and patriotic music," he said. "Several of our members are arrangers and two compose and arrange. It gives us something fresh."

Spires members range from the mid-30s into their 40s, and that's for a reason, Slezak said.

"We refrain from marches, but the adults have a quicker grasp and they have a sense of humor," he said. "The kids are more introspective."

Slezak holds his musicians to tough standards.

"The biggest challenge with adults is pushing the level higher, pushing the envelope and getting them to play more difficult music," he said. "At the high school level, the challenge is pushing the level of performance of a new crew every four years."

He rehearses with the band every week.

"It's challenging," he said. "At the same time, it's a lot of fun."

Some Spires members come from Gettysburg, Pa., West Virginia, Northern Virginia and Baltimore. The band has five women. The band has also been fortunate in finding singers, including a couple of opera singers who performed "Duet for Two Cats" by Rossini.

Neither Slezak nor any of the band members are paid.

"It is a labor of love," he said.