Oxford musician seeks to launch community band for area players

Oxford may soon have a new place for people who once played in school bands, church ensembles or college groups to pick up their instruments again.

Lucas Hughes, a former Oxford High School trumpet player, held an interest meeting Sunday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Lafayette County Multipurpose Arena to see whether enough area musicians wanted to form a community band and what shape the group should take. He is not pitching a one-night performance. The goal is a recurring ensemble that could meet regularly, perform several times a year and, if the turnout supports it, spin off smaller groups.

Hughes said his own return to music came only after years away because of military service and career demands. When he was given a new trumpet, he started playing again and realized he wanted a local outlet rather than driving to another county. He also said he was surprised there were not many long-term community band options nearby for adult players, a gap he hopes to fill in Oxford and Lafayette County.

For now, the project is still in the recruiting stage. Organizers have not bought music yet because they are still trying to determine how many players will show up and what instruments they can field. Hughes said he is looking for people with prior experience and an intermediate level of skill, which suggests the band is meant for serious players rather than beginners. That makes it a possible home for former school musicians who still want structure, along with educators, church players and others who already know how to read music and blend in a section.

Wayne Andrews of the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council encouraged the idea. The arts council, founded in 1975, serves as the official arts agency for Oxford and Lafayette County, where local arts programming is already part of the civic landscape. Oxford, with 25,416 residents in the 2020 census, and Lafayette County, with 55,813, are large enough to support a wide range of arts activity but still small enough that new volunteer groups depend heavily on word of mouth and committed leadership.

The meeting took place at the new Lafayette County Multipurpose Arena, 70 F.D. Buddy East Parkway, just north of the Lafayette Schools campus, where the county says visitors get free parking. The facility offers educational programs, classrooms, meeting spaces and an indoor arena, making it a natural gathering spot for a project that needs enough players to last.

If Hughes succeeds, the band would fit an established Mississippi model. The Mississippi Community Symphonic Band in Jackson has operated since 2004 as a volunteer adult ensemble with more than 60 members and multiple free concerts each year, showing that a community band can survive here when the players, repertoire and leadership all line up.