Sue Sitter/PCT Anthony Schreier sits at the piano before the Village Arts Community Orchestra begins its rehearsal for a spring concert, set for April 2.

The Village Arts Community Orchestra gathered in the Rugby High School music room the evening of Monday, Feb. 20, for its first of six weekly practices before a spring concert set for April 2.

Orchestra Director Anthony Schreier said the concert would feature five ensembles.

“It will be ukuleles, the children’s choir, the adult choir, the strings-only group and then our full orchestra as well,” he said.

Although several musicians warmed up their instruments in the room before the first rehearsal, Schreier said he wanted to put out a call for a few more.

“We need trombones, tuba, bassoon, oboe and any percussionist. Anyone’s welcome to join, but those are the instruments we don’t have any of right now,” he said.

“We don’t have any trombones, we don’t have any tubas,” he added. “We have one percussionist, but we could use two or three more, because I like to have some very active rhythm parts in my piece and the pieces that I pick.”

“If anybody’s ever played, I’d like for them to come check us out,” he added. “Even if they just come for rehearsal and then decide, ‘Nope, this isn’t for me,’ it’s better than them not coming and not knowing they could enjoy playing with us.”

“Every Monday from eight to nine is when our ensemble meets,” he added. “We’re right after the strings, which are from seven to eight.”

“We actually don’t even do auditions, because we’re a community ensemble, so if you’ve ever played an instrument of any kind, we invite you to come,” he said.

Schreier said he chose pieces that would be “middle-level of (difficulty) range.”

One Latin-themed piece he chose has lots of syncopation, which might prove a challenge, but also calls for a robust percussion section.

“That’s going to be our challenging piece,” he said. “The rest of them are quarter notes, half notes, full notes, eighth notes and a few sixteenth notes.”

Shreier, a member of the Minot Symphony Orchestra, is a recent graduate of Minot State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music education.

He said he ventured into orchestra conducting after talking with Efrain Amaya, the symphony’s director. After Shreier studied under Amaya, he said he enjoyed leading orchestras. He served as a guest conductor for one piece in a Minot Symphony Orchestra performance.

“Shortly after that, one of the members of the ensemble said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for a conductor for our symphony orchestra in Rugby. Would you like to guest conduct for a concert? If they like you, they’ll ask for you to come back,'” he said.

“So, that was my first concert, in spring of 2022, our first season back after COVID. It was a 20s-themed concert and it was a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m glad to be back.”

Although Schreier said he had no personal ties to Rugby, he’s passed through town plenty of times driving from Minot to Grand Forks, where he grew up, or turning north on State Highway 3 to travel to the International Music Camp at the International Peace Garden.

“My wife was actually born in the Rugby hospital, but she grew up in Leeds,” Schreier added. “That was my only tie to Rugby,” he said, “but, of course, I’ve made lots of great friends here.”

“We’ve actually got some great pieces for the concert,” Schreier said. “The theme is ‘Around the World from the Center of the World,’ because Rugby is the Geographical Center of North America. It’s the geographical center of the world for this concert, so there’s going to be lots of music from around the world that maybe you wouldn’t typically hear in a concert.”

“I’m taking us on a journey from Latin America up to Russia, to Hungary, to Germany and back to the United States to end our concert,” he added.

Schreier said he encouraged anyone interested in joining the orchestra to get in touch with him, or “just show up.” The orchestra practices from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Rugby High School.

“If someone wants to contact me, that would be fine,” he said. “The best way is by email at mr.anthony2010@hotmail.com. Otherwise, they could private message Village Arts on the Village Arts Facebook page, or they could just show up and play.”

“If they just show up, every week I try to make extra folders with music for each instrument,” he added.

Rehearsals for the string ensemble are held Mondays at the CMA room at the Village Arts Center from 7-8 p.m.

Choir, children’s choir and ukulele ensemble rehearsals begin Monday, Feb. 27. All will be held at Rugby High School. For more information, see Village Arts, Inc. on Facebook.