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A message from the Hot Springs Concert Band...After an enjoyable winter concert to open the 2024 season, the Hot Springs Concert Band is now preparing for its spring concert. For all you music and ice cream lovers, what may very well be your favorite concert of the year is coming up on Sunday, April 21. Yes, it’s the annual Kiwanis Club Spring Concert and Ice Cream Social, a special event that has been a staple of the band’s concert season for over 30 years. On top of enjoying the music and ice cream, all attendees will have the opportunity to contribute to the Kiwanis Club’s service to children and youth in our area through your ticket purchases. The ice cream will be served at 2 p.m. and the concert will begin at 3 p.m. at the Woodlands Auditorium in Hot Springs Village. However, this year’s spring concert will be different in a way that no spring concert has ever been. It will be Dr. Craig Hamilton’s final concert as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Hot Springs Concert Band (HSCB). After 41 years at Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) and 25 years leading the HSCB, Dr. Hamilton will soon retire. He came to the band in August 1999 at the request of Harvey McIntyre to be a guest conductor, or a temporary one at best. Well... we all know the rest of the story and are so thankful and blessed for the turn of events that gave him to us for what would become a quarter-century. When Dr. Hamilton arrived on the scene, he gave the band a spark... a leadership that would inspire and motivate the band to reach for and even exceed its potential. He took a solid foundation laid by his predecessors and rejuvenated and grew a band that indeed aspired and excelled to new levels. The Hot Springs Concert Band has since played venues and events well beyond its local communities and has been the recipient of awards reflecting not only quality musicianship but a faithful and enduring commitment to preserving and advancing the artistic heritage bequeathed to us by generations of yesteryear, including those earlier band comrades. Those of you who have attended any of the HSCB concerts also know that Dr. Hamilton’s love of music is almost matched by his love of people who love music. His personal touch and sense of humor at concerts have added a special dimension that has complemented the music and created an atmosphere of delight and camaraderie within our audiences. And it should be noted that all of the above was in addition to his day job at OBU as a dedicated and renowned educator and mentor whose legacy there is immeasurable. More important, though, is his gig on the home front: that of husband, father and grandfather, roles that are of the utmost priority to him. As he shared with the band: “It’s time to go back home, closer to our kids and grandkids... and to the beach.” The Hot Springs Concert Band will carry on, eventually with a new conductor who will continue and build upon the legacies left by Dr. Hamilton and those before him. However, his long season with the band will endure in the hearts of all who were fortunate enough to be a part of the band during the past 25 years. In the meantime, there will soon be ice cream and a concert to enjoy, and Dr. Hamilton and the band as usual are preparing a good one for you. We hope this concert will reflect a turnout indicative of three important things: A desire to contribute to the important mission of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Hot Springs Village; a desire to listen to some great music and enjoy some ice cream and fellowship; and last but certainly not least, a desire to pay tribute to Dr. Craig Hamilton’s quarter-century of dedication and contributions to our communities. May it be a fitting sendoff for him and an opportunity to wish him a personal thank you and farewell. |
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