“Someone hired us for a pool party, and things kind of grew from there.”
More than 30 years later, the Kim Kelly Orchestra is a popular 17-piece ensemble that performs regularly around the Dayton region and beyond.
The group’s next appearance will be Thursday, Aug. 26, at RiverScape MetroPark.
“We’re really excited about playing at RiverScape,” Kelly said. “Because we do a lot of private functions, we look forward to community events like this that are open to the public.”
Since that first summer after graduation, the orchestra has had remarkably few personnel changes. The newest member of the group joined about 10 years ago.
“Most of the guys have played with me since the early ‘80s,” Kelly said: “A lot of them I’ve known since I was in college or high school.”
Some orchestra members are involved in music full time as teachers or performers. But Kelly said, “We’ve also got engineers, business owners and sales representatives who play music on the side.”
Kelly manages a human resources company when he’s not playing drums with the band.
Members of his ensemble also have performed with the Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller, Buddy Rich and Woody Herman big bands.
“People in Dayton don’t realize how many really good musicians there are in this area,” Kelly said.
In addition to its skilled players, the orchestra is also distinguished by its wide repertoire that appeals to a broad audience. Their concerts feature classic tunes from the era of Count Basie and Duke Ellington played alongside more recent hits by Genesis, Huey Lewis and other groups.
“We like to throw in some contemporary selections played in a big-band style,” Kelly said. “It gets everybody to be more open-minded about different kinds of music.”
Adam Alonzo is a contributing writer for the Dayton Daily News. He can be reached by e-mail at music@adamalonzo.com.
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