Thanks to Brad Riley, a local musical calendar is just a spreadsheet away

October 19, 2019

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Google has pretty much already taken over the world, so we might as well make it work for us by keeping track of our concerts as well.

Brad Riley, a local music educator and enthusiastic member of the Wind Symphony of Clovis and several other community ensembles, has a new hobby of sorts: He’s keeping a Google spreadsheet accessible to all titled “Local Music Ensembles.” Think of it as the next generation of a newspaper’s events calendar.

It’s divided into the following useful categories:

• Concert bands/wind ensembles
• Orchestral ensembles
• Jazz ensembles
• Brass, woodwind and percussion
• Other events of interest

The format is simple: Date, time, concert location and notes. And, it’s color coded!

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Brad tells me:

It dawned on me that the greater Fresno area probably has the most community bands per capita than any other region in the state, perhaps even in the country? It also struck me that some of these concerts, for a variety of reasons, have only half filled venues for their performances. Yes, the Fresno Bee does not highlight these events like they used to since your unfortunate departure. I know people also lead very busy lives. But I truly think if people knew about what we have here in the Fresno/Clovis area and were able to plan ahead, perhaps the venues would be filled closer to capacity?

The spreadsheet is a great resource. I already have it bookmarked. And, as Brad points out, he can keep it updated and not have to share it anew each time he does.

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Here are the events you’ll find over the next few days:

Oct. 20: Clovis Community Band fall concert, 2:30 p.m. Shaghoian Hall.
Oct. 20: Fresno Community Concert Band, 3 and 7 p.m., Fresno City College Theatre.
Oct. 23: Fresno City College Wind Ensemble, 7 p.m., Shaghoian Hall. Joint concert with Clovis North High School

If you want to contact Brad, he’s listed as the spreadsheet’s administrator. His contact email is on the first line.