Chico Community Concert Band

Member Spotlight Monday with Theodore! 🪈 🎷 🎶

Alto Saxophone, flute, and elementary clarinet.
How long have you been in the community band?

~5 years
What got you interested in music?

Uncle who played saxophone in swing bands of the 40’s.
Favorite musical genre?

All genres, especially classic jazz. Oscar Peterson is a special talent.
Has anyone inspired you in your music career?

Charles Ives.
Any hobbies?

Many over the years… antique lamps & Glass and 1st edition books (modern American fiction). Was a music critic in Los Angeles, and now write program notes for the North State Symphony.

What’s your favorite musical/movie?

Sound of Music
Why did you join the Chico Community band?

To improve my flute chops.
If you could play any other instrument, what would it be?

Piano - I’ve tried and tried….
Fun Fact about yourself:

I shook hands with Colonel Sanders on his 90th birthday.

Played My old Ky Home at the Ky Derby.

And played on stage with Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Jose Feliciano, and the Temptations.
… And a few shows with the Ringling Bros Circus.

I was a professor at UCLA department of Surgery working on many projects including cochlear implants.

All of those jobs prepared me for my career as Professor and Chair of Psychology and Speech and Hearing departments at Cal State LA. When I retired I moved to Chico, following my wife, Judy Hennessey, Dean of the College of Business, and continued to teach part time until COVID.

Optional - What section do you have the most beef with?

The ones that play out of tune.

🎶 Chico Community Band Spring Concert 🌸

Join us for an afternoon of music and community as the Chico Community Bands present their annual Spring Concert!

📅 Sunday, April 26, 2026
🕒 3:00 PM
📍 Chico Family Masonic Center

Celebrate the season with a lively program featuring a variety of concert band favorites. This performance brings together talented local musicians of all ages, sharing their passion for music with the Chico community.

Bring your friends and family, and enjoy a welcoming, family-friendly event filled with inspiring music and community spirit.

🎵 We look forward to seeing you there!

Meet Laurajean! 🪈 🎼

What instrument(s) do you play: 
​
Flute 

How long have you been in the community band? 
Almost 3 years

How long have you played?
5th-12th grade, 2 years in college & now 3 years. So 13 over my life pieced together. Not very long! 

What got you interested in music
​
My mom. I grew up with her playing jazz piano into the night - she got her master’s in that so.music was just always around
 
Any hobbies? 
Crocheting, playing sports, reading, cooking, 
 
 
Why did you join the Chico Community band? 
 
​
Playing your instrument alongside others is magical and there is not like it. I started while pregnant with my 3rd child because I wanted to do one last hoorah before having 3 kids and then found myself drawn to come back shortly after she was born and here I still am a few years later. 

If you could play any other instrument, what would it be?
​
I would like to try trumpet or saxophone

Fun Fact about yourself: I’m the youngest of 7 kids and my niece is older than me.