“I met up with the fellow; I’ve even forgotten his name, and I soon began to round up about six banjo players and we got organized,” said Whiting, who is retired from playing.
The Society grew to include other instruments to round out the sound. Today, there is often an accordion, a trombone, a trumpet, a fiddle, a saw, a mandolin and many tambourines. Banjo players John Weber, Doug Parsons, Charlie Ernst, Dick McKelvie and Richard Saporito are the nucleus of the group.
“There are six women in the group and they frequently sing in a duet or a quartet,” said Saporito, a Kettering resident who joined the group in 1988 after hearing a performance at Carillon Park. “Banjo music is happy music, and audiences really respond to it, making our performances fun for all.”
Rehearsals are held each Monday at the Milton Club in North Dayton. Some of the members travel from Middletown and Cincinnati. Since banjo music reflects an American heritage, and the outfits on the members of the Kettering Banjo Society are always red, white and blue.
When Tall Stacks, a river boat festival, appeared on the Ohio River in Cincinnati, the Kettering Banjo Society was a part of the event. Fairs and festivals are popular summer performance venues for the group. They will perform Sept. 26 at the Tipp City Mum Festival.
Throughout the fall and winter, the Kettering Banjo Society appears at retirement communities, senior centers and holiday civic events. The group also has made some CDs.
For more information about the Kettering Banjo Society, call Richard Saporito at (937) 434-2385.
Contact this columnist at (937) 433-1552 or adeleauk4737@ sbcglobal.net.
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