horeham
Wading River
Community Band

The Shoreham Wading-River Community Band was founded in 1983 by Marty Stromsten, currently a retired music educator and professional trumpet player. He handed the baton over to Jim Traina, currently a retired music educator and trombonist, in 1991. Mr. Traina passed it to Jim MacDougall in 2004. In addition to our regular seasonal concerts, the band also performs "On the Road", travelling to nursing homes and veteran's facilities to perform. To exist, the band relies entirely donations to purchase music and provide funding for our scholarship program. We also have other benefactors. These include the Suffolk County Legislature, and many local businesses who have paid for advertisement in our programs. Our bandmembers include people from all walks of life, from middle school students to retired music teachers. We all share one thing in common - a love of music.

About Our Musical Director Jim MacDougall was born and raised on Long Island but attended the University of Arizona in Tucson where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music education. Following graduation he returned to Long Island in hopes of finding a teaching job only to find that the job market was not very good. Having grown up watching planes fly over his house on the way to Kennedy Airport and witnessing the early space program he was inspired to join the Air Force and learn to fly. He entered Officer Training School in 1981 and earned his wings in March of 1983. He spent seven years on active duty before deciding to return to Long Island once again to pursue a career in music education. Accepting a position at Hicksville High School as assistant band director and music theory teacher, he learned of the 106th Rescue Wing in Westhampton Beach and opted to return to active duty and complete an additional thirteen years needed for retirement. Jim retired from the Air Force in the Fall of 2003 as a Lieutenant Colonel and was finally able to fulfill his life-long dream of becoming a music teacher. He now teaches band in the Westhampton Beach School District and has studied music in such places as C.W. Post College, Westminster Choir College, Central Connecticut State University and The College of New Jersey. He accepted the position as Musical Director for the SWR Community Band in 2004.