By T. Scott Boatright
The Russ-Town Band has been a big part of holiday seasons in Ruston for more than 20 years now.
Christmases and Fourths of July wouldn’t seem the same without their musical performances, and they’ll be back at it with a patriotic concert at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Howard Center for the Performing Arts on the Louisiana Tech University campus.
The Russ-Town Band was formed by Lawrence and Jan Gibbs and Charles and Anne Gaushell in March 1994, who felt summer and holiday entertainment was needed in Lincoln Parish.
Lawrence Gibbs was the assistant director/band manager and No. 1 clarinet player for the band early on and became the Russ-Town Band director in 2001.
In 2022, Gibbs moved on, and then newly hired Louisiana Tech Band of Pride Director Chris Heidenreich took the reins of the Russ-Town Band after making the move from up north to assume the role at LA Tech following the retirement of Jim Robken.
“I think both Beth, my wife, and I have really enjoyed the small-town, Southern atmosphere,” Heidenreich said. “We certainly enjoyed being able to wear flip-flops in January. Everyone has been so welcoming. I know replacing a legend like Jim Robken can be difficult, but I think everyone has been very accepting of us as a couple. We found a church home. Our neighborhood is great, and we’ve settled right in just because of the welcoming nature of everyone in this town.”
Heidenreich said practices for the Russ-Town Band revolve around the season.
“It’s settled into certain times of the year preparing for the concerts,” Heidenreich said. “When I started with the (Russ-Town Band), we had only the holiday (Christmas) concert at the Dixie (Center for the Arts) and one other patriotic concert in July.
“Since then, with the Peach Festival coming back after COVID, we’re now kind of settled into opening up the Peach Festival, which has been really great. Our first year we did it at 10 o’clock, and it got really hot, especially for some of our ‘seasoned’ members. But now we’re doing 9 o’clock starts with the Peach Parade on Friday. We’ve had some great audiences the last two years. Being able to start the day with the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ I think has been a big benefit to the Peach Festival itself.”
In the past two years, Heidenreich said spring concerts have been added to the Russ-Town Band’s schedule.
“Those are in the March/April time frame,” Heidenreich said. “So we typically ramp up about five to six weeks in advance of each program.”
Heidenreich said the number of band members has varied over the years he’s been here, as have their ages.
“It rotates,” Heidenreich said. “I think that’s one of the struggles as the band expands its reach. Not everybody can make each event, and we’re finding that weekends are a little tougher, so we’re moving some of our concerts to Thursday nights to be a little more consistent, even though the one this weekend is on Saturday.
“I think this weekend we’ll have 45 people performing. We have one junior high student. That story is kind of cool because she’s playing with her dad and her brother, and they all play trombone. And our oldest members are in their 70s and 80s. So it’s a great mix, and I think that’s what makes the community a part of the Russ-Town Band, with us being from different walks of life.”
Brian Lassister, minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church in Choudrant, is president of the Russ-Town Board and has been a band member playing trumpet since the beginning.
“It doesn’t take all that much time doing something I love,” Lassister said. “I don’t play as much as I want to, but I did travel all 48 lower states and much of Europe way back when before I got into music — my (college) degree was in instrumental music education. I had to learn how to play everything. If it’s in a band or orchestra, I had to learn to play it at some point. At least enough to demonstrate. But trumpet was my profession for a little while.
“I was in the Ruston Symphony before Day 1 (of) the Russ-Town Band. It is awesome to be part of the Russ-Town Band, playing with people who this is the only (musical) outlet they have.”
The Russ-Town Jazz Band also has an upcoming performance at 7 p.m. July 31 at the Dixie Center for the Performing Arts.
“That’s a select group,” Heidenreich said. “Not everybody can settle into the jazz routine. Lawrence Gibbs is going to be hosting that this year. I’m not able to be there, and that’s actually not part of my responsibilities with the group. It’s an ancillary group, I think is the way of saying it.
“But Lawrence is going to do one more go-round with that. And we get a big representation from the community with those concerts, but it’s a smaller, more select group of musicians.”
