Lakeland Civic Band
The Lakeland Civic Band is a concert band/wind ensemble composed of Lakeland students, high school players, school music teachers, directors and community musicians.
The band is one of the few community college groups recognized with the John Philip Sousa Foundation's Sudler Silver Scroll Award for musical excellence and service to the community. The Lakeland Civic Band is currently under the direction of Frank T. Cosenza.
WHO IS ELEGIBLE: Lakeland students and community members are encouraged to audition for the Lakeland Civic Band.
WHEN: The civic band holds rehearsals every Thursday evening from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
WHERE: Rehearsals are either in the PAC or the Fletcher Music Room, C-1078.
REQUIREMENTS: All performers must have sight-reading skills, have had ensemble performance experience (at least two years at the high school level), and be able to commit to Thursday evening rehearsals and three to four performances per semester. Most performers must provide their own instruments, and percussionists must provide their own mallets. During summer term, the band performs outdoor concerts.
CRITERIA: Acceptance into the Lakeland Civic Band is by audition. Please contact Lakeland's Civic Band Director for more information.
INSTRUMENTS: The band welcomes all concert band style instruments including piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, contra bass clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba and percussion.
The Lakeland Civic Band was founded by Mr. Charles Frank in 1977 with the purpose of providing an opportunity for instrumentalists from the area to perform band literature of the highest quality. Its membership is drawn from Lakeland students, talented high school players, school music teachers and directors, and community musicians who are selected by audition. In addition to hosting guest artists and conductors, the band features several of its members as soloists or conductors each season. The band's 20th Anniversary featured the world-renowned Dr. Frederick Fennell as guest conductor; the 25th Anniversary featured Col. John Bourgeois, former conductor of the U.S. Marine Band; the 30th Anniversary featured Loras John Schissel, renowned conductor of the Blossom Festival Band; and the 35th Anniversary featured Col. Timothy Foley, also former conductor of the U.S. Marine Band.
During its history, the Lakeland Civic Band has commissioned four original compositions including "Poem for Band" by Dr. Rex Mitchell, formerly of Clarion State University in Pennsylvania; "Ode to a Clocktower" composed in honor of the band's 25th Anniversary by former Lakeland faculty member, Dan Rager; "Suite: The American West" by Lakeland faculty member, Dr. Stephen Stanziano; and "Mysterious Marvels," by Lakeland music department Chair Dr. Matthew Saunders. In addition to its regular schedule of concerts held at Lakeland each year, in recent years the band has performed at Mentor High School, Perry High School, Wickliffe High School, Lakeside High School, Kirtland Middle School, Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus, the Kent State University Stark Campus, and Severance Hall. The band also provides music each spring for Lakeland's annual commencement exercises. During summer terms, the civic band performs outdoor concerts at venues such as the James A. Garfield National Historic Site and the Mentor Civic Amphitheater.
The Lakeland Civic Band has been honored by invitations to perform for national, state and regional conferences including the Ohio Music Education Association Conferences in 1980, 1985, 1991, 2003 and 2006; the North Central Regional Conference of the College Band Directors National Association at The Ohio State University in 1982; the National Convention of the American School Band Directors Association in Columbus, Ohio in 1993; and the National Convention of the Association of Concert Bands in Lisle, Illinois in 1998. The civic band and chorus were invited to perform at the Chautauqua Institute in 1997, 1999 and 2002. In 1997, the Lakeland Civic Band received the Sudler Silver Scroll Award presented by the Sousa Foundation in recognition of musical excellence and service to the community. The Lakeland Civic Band is one of the few community college groups that have received this award based on an evaluation of continued musical achievements and performance tapes.
Frank Cosenza is a veteran band director who retired from the West Geauga Local Schools where he was a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Education Award. He served as interim director of athletic bands/concert band at Kent State University for the 2012-2013 academic year where the Marching Golden Flashes performed in the MAC Conference Championship and the Go Daddy.com Bowl. He previously taught in Mentor, Parma, Mansfield and North Ridgeville school districts.
His groups have performed at Severance Hall for the Northeast Ohio Wind Band Invitational, the Ohio Music Education Association State Conference, the American School Band Directors Association State Conference, Lincoln Center in New York City, and the Ohio School Boards Association Conference. Additionally, his groups have performed at the University of Akron Band Clinic, Hiram College, Cleveland Browns halftime, the Cleveland Indians and performances in Florida, Michigan, Georgia and Canada.
Concert bands under his direction have received consistent superior ratings at OMEA large group adjudicated events. He has served on the Content Validation Panel for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and has been on the staff of American Music Abroad taking student musicians to Europe. Additionally, he served as assistant director of the All-Ohio State Fair Band. Cosenza is an elected member of Phi Beta Mu- International Bandmasters Fraternity, the American School Band Director's Association and Tau Beta Sigma honorary.
As a member of the Ohio Music Education Association, he has served as state treasurer/trustee, district president, All-State co-coordinator, member of music selection committees, adjudicated events chair and current adjudicator. He was the 2006 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for OMEA District VII and was chosen as the "Honored Teacher" at West Geauga High School in 2010. He has served as guest conductor/clinician in Nevada, Florida and throughout Ohio as well as an adjudicator for "Music in the Parks/Festivals of Music."
He has conducted concert bands for the Cleveland Federation of Musicians, the Windjammers Unlimited (Circus Music Historical Society,) and the W.D. Packard Concert Band. He was formerly associate conductor of the Medina Community Band. Cosenza is co-principal trumpet with the W.D. Packard Concert Band and has played with the Big Band Sound of Warren. Additionally, he has played for many shows and artists including Frankie Avalon, The Manhattan Transfer, Wayne Newton, Johnny Mathis, Holiday on Ice, the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus and Ludwig Masters recordings. He is a Conn-Selmer endorsing artist and received a Bachelor of Music degree from Bowling Green State University and Master of Music from the University of Akron where he received the Distinguished Music Educator Alumni Award in 2020.
