The Advent/Hopewell Moravian Church Band is comprised of members of both Advent and Hopewell Moravian Churches as well as community members of other denominations. The band plays year round with wind instruments including brass and woodwinds. We also have, which is rare for a Moravian band, a percussion section that plays all seasons except Easter.
We play all types of concert band music including hymns, patriotic music, marches and more. We stay busy with six to eight concerts in the spring, summer and fall, and four concerts during the Christmas season at churches, nursing homes, and civic events. We also play for our church lovefeasts, anniversaries, funerals, and other functions and services.
Age is not a concern for members of the Advent Hopewell Band. Musicians of all ages are welcome with the only requirement being permanent teeth (store bought are fine), and be able to count. We have beginning classes that help feed the advanced band and we are open for ANYONE who wishes to play music while serving our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our goal is to provide a ministry to the community by spreading God’s word and inviting people to join our churches.
Please consider being a part of our band as we practice Tuesday nights at 7:00pm at Advent Moravian Church on the corner of West Clemmonsville and Old Salisbury Roads (map). All ages and skill levels are welcome!
Come and make a joyful noise.
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The following was written by Michael Salley, a member of the Moravian Band, who lives in Watauga County. Michael was able to capture what most Moravian Band members feel about their playing but have never taken the time to really think about it. It is my hope that Michael’s thoughts will encourage each of us to become more dedicated (rekindle our fire) to our service of music and to encourage friends and relatives to join us. JES
It's Saturday morning, and I could have slept in, or gotten up and worked on my brakes that need fixing, or just watched TV and puttered around the house… but instead, I woke up early to drive about 90 miles and almost 2 hours each way (during a week when some of the big news is fuel prices) to go play with a Moravian funeral band. Try explaining to folks unfamiliar with our tradition that you're going to great lengths to play for a funeral service for an individual with whom you weren't acquainted! We’ll probably play eight or ten tunes, twelve if I’m lucky, and then it’ll be time to turn right around and go all the way back home again. Some might find this unusual, but the thing is… I can’t think of a single thing that I’d rather be doing. It’s not just “worth it”… this is one of the biggest parts of who I am and what I love.
As I sit at a light and sort through my bag of chorale books to see which ones I need today, I look at them and think somebody is probably going to decide these are junk someday. But the stories they could tell. Both of my bass books have missing covers, one from years of use and one from a hungry mouse in a car trunk. Some have regressed from staple-bound to loose-leaf, and many pages are dog-eared. My E-flat alto books have dark red stains on almost every page because they were in a horn case in a leaky trunk and the dye ran, and my soprano books have weird gooey residue on them because they were on the car seat the day I hauled someone’s old computer home to fix and the deteriorating rubber feet smeared off onto everything. They’ve been rained on, snowed on, crammed into cargo pockets, lost and trampled under car seats, and scribbled in to remind me which hymns have good descants in the other book. Some are replacements, because I never ask for anything back if I lent it out and it didn't return. They’ve been played outside, inside, and by flashlight in the middle of the night at Easter. I carry twenty books for myself to accommodate any instrument, several more for my wife, and close to two full sets to distribute to any new player who shows up at one of my events or churches. I've probably given away at least a few dozen by now.
One unique thing about the band is that it is a great equalizer, and all are welcome. We have children who are just starting to learn, adults of all ages and skill levels from beginner to professionally accomplished, and those elderly enough to struggle to play at all, yet they carry on. We have senior clergy and ordinary laity - not even all Moravian. We have people for whom music is a career and people for whom it is just a recreation. In this group, there’s no grandstanding. We're all in this together and we are all grateful to participate in any way we can. Sometimes that means playing; sometimes it means directing; sometimes it means holding a flashlight or driving a van. I've had no formal training in music leadership and no experience in it outside the church, yet I have been invited and welcomed to lead a band that contained close to a half dozen music educators and professionals who were far more qualified and deserving. But here, that doesn't matter... however you can help the most in any given situation, it's your privilege to do so.
This great equality extends to those we serve as well. We play for anybody. These aren’t state funerals for the elite who made headlines; these are ordinary, everyday people from regular families. If you’re Moravian (or had Moravian connections) and you want a band to see you on your way and comfort your family… then you get it. No questions asked. I wish I had started counting how many separate events (funerals, holidays, celebrations) I’ve played for, back when I could have kept track. I wonder if I’m up to a hundred yet? I could be close; I just don't know. Some have been doing this for longer than I’ve been in the world and I may never catch up. But it's not a competition. I will do all I can, and maybe someday they will play for me. I’ll do my best to listen, if I’m allowed to do so.
Finally, I love the music itself. The arrangements are not artistically complex, but they’re satisfying to the soul. They bring comfort and sustenance through listening, through playing, through reflecting on the words that one knows by heart. I genuinely believe that the Moravian chorales are the chicken pie of music. They're nothing fancy, but they're everything you need. I love that this ministry gives an opportunity to bring joy and comfort to people at all times of need or celebration. And I love that they invite me to participate even though I’m not even a member of the denomination, nor particularly gifted.
Friends and neighbors who played in high school and haven't thought about an instrument since - talk to me, or one of the other band members. Folks who think it’s too late to relearn or who never learned at all… I promise you, it isn’t. The Moravian band is the best setting you will ever find to be accepted at your own skill level, not embarrassed or pushed to go beyond your limits, and to be made to feel genuinely welcome and useful no matter what the situation. For those who are good players already, this is a great chance to get to play when you can without pressure when you can’t, and enjoy some incredible friendships and opportunities to help other people along the way. Opportunities can be found for anyone who wants to participate. I don’t do this because I have to. I do it because there is nothing I’d rather do. Maybe some of you are ready for that in your life too… don’t be shy. Get involved. Lacking connections to the church and hardly knowing any of the people when I joined, I could have come up with plenty of excuses not to get involved. But I can say with no exaggeration today that it is one of the greatest blessings in my life that I ignored the excuses and accepted the invitation which I now re-extend to any who find these words.