Arletta neighborhood band is making itself heard

The Arletta Sound will play at New Year’s Eve’s ‘First Night’

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

It was standing room only at the coffee shop on a Sunday afternoon at Borders Books and Music. People relaxed on couches and sipped lattes, and young musicians filled the room with sound. The orchestra, called the Arletta Sound, consists of about 20 students who band together to play — not for money or for a school project but for the joy of camaraderie.

“I walk up to the Becks every Sunday at 2,” saxophone player Jessica Sharp said. “It’s one of the things I look forward to every weekend. The bands members are some of my greatest friends and are very close. Boy or girl, we talk, laugh and burst into random improvisational sessions together.

“The composers, Dirk and Wolf (Beck), are extremely kind and good natured — open to any suggestions about our piece.”

Mimmi Beck hosts the group at her Gig Harbor home on the weekends. The group has changed over time, but no member is older than 16.

“It’s an interesting group because the kids have come and gone,” she said. “It’s been really fun for our family, because we never know who’s going to be at practice. It’s a dynamic group.”

Wolfgang and Dirk, Beck’s sons, find writing pieces for the group fun as well as challenging. The brothers play a variety of instruments, such as trombone, keyboard and trumpet.

“The Arletta Sound has a unique style and mix of instruments,” Dirk Beck said. “Whereas most groups are either classical or jazz, our group is a combination of the two.

“Our music reflects the instruments played by our group of friends. At our last performance, we combined viola and cello with drums and saxophone.”

Wolfgang Beck said when he composes, he often has certain instruments in mind to play the sounds, but that can change according to who is present and what instruments they bring to practice. Then the music can take on new, unexpected sounds.

“We write songs that can be played by different instruments, depending on who we have,” he said. “At the start, we had all jazz instruments, and from there, we’ve morphed into more of a classical sound. Now we’ve gotten more string instruments, so we’ve incorporated them.

“There’s always a different combination of instruments, a lot of new members, so it has a changing sound.”

Sharp said the Becks work hard to make sure everyone has an exciting part.

“One of my favorite things about going up there is that I don’t have to be worried about being perfect,” she said. “I can make a mistake, or count my rests wrong, and come in three measures too early, and my friends up there can laugh it off. We support each other.”

Mimmi Beck attributes a lot of the students’ talent to Warren Hunt, a music teacher at Kopachuck Middle School in Gig Harbor.

“All the kids in the group were trained by Mr. Hunt,” she said. “Each and every one of them started with him. He’s really done wonders. He has trained them to a really high level.

“I’m a mom that has two kids that like to write music, then they’d put it in a drawer. Because of a suggestion by Warren Hunt, the kids have formed a band.”

That band has its own style and its own way of doing things. Free from the stresses of convention, the group has blossomed. It now performs in front of live audiences.

“We stress collaboration,” Dirk Beck said. “We don’t have one conductor. Whoever writes the song we’re playing conducts it. Unlike most groups, who are run by one conductor, this group is run by us, the kids. We all have an important part in every song.”

It’s that unique mix of creativity that encourages the students to take their own time to play on weekends.

“When I am with that group, my best friends, I can be myself and express myself in ways that I don’t in my school jazz band.” Sharp said. “They are building up my confidence by being supportive and just fun to be around.

“I love our group and the people in it. I hope to continue playing with them for a long time.”

On New Year’s Eve, the band will share its talent with others at the “First Night” celebration at the Pythian Temple in Tacoma.

“The entertainment is varied and encourages you to walk around, sampling different things,” Mimmi Beck said. “Our little band, an extracurricular collaboration of middle school and high school composers and performers from Gig Harbor ... is honored to be featured alongside the professionals.”

New Year’s performance

Arletta Sound will help ring in the new year at the Pythian Temple. The band will be among the performers entertaining at “First Night” at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at 926 Broadway in Tacoma.

Festival tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children and $30 for families. Tickets can be purchased by calling 253-222-1058.