County Seat Newspaper
of Clare County

Gateway Community Band Honors Darren Acton

New Music to Honor Clare Man

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The Gateway Community Band has commissioned a new piece of music to honor founding member Darren Acton who passed away last February after a long battle with cancer. Having lived all of his 55 years in Clare, Darren wore many civic hats in his lifetime, having served for many years on the Clare City Planning Commission, the Clare Area Jaycees, and also did much work for the Clare Chamber of Commerce. Darren was also an accomplished downhill skier and ski instructor at the Snow Snake Ski resort in Harrison. He was a charter member of the Gateway Community Band and was very active in the Scottville Clown Band dressed as a leprechaun to honor his hometown of Clare. Composer/arranger Chris Haas titled this piece "Celtic Odyssey" and its lively Irish flavor reflects the active life of this busy man. Darren was an accomplished percussionist having played snare drum, bass drum, tympani, crash cymbals and other tempo-keeping instruments.

The more than 55-member Gateway Community Band will be performing "Celtic Odyssey" along with other Irish tunes and other upbeat music at its annual Irish Festival concert March 17 starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Clare High School gymnasium. Admission is free for all ages. More information about the band can be found at www.gatewaybands.org or on its Facebook page “Gateway Community Band".

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