Who We Are

SWCB, under the direction of Pat Lay, held its first rehearsal on March 23, 1998 at the McMinnville High School in McMinnville, Oregon with ten musicians, many who were just picking up their instruments for the first time. We have grown from then to a group currently 45-60 members in size, governed by Board Members from throughout the band.

Our members come from all over the Oregon counties of Yamhill, Washington, Marion and Polk. We range in ages from high schoolers to octogenarians and with musicals skill levels from intermediate to professional. Many professional occupations are represented as well: doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, trades people…retired and working people.

Many of the members of the band today were former musicians in high school, college or the military, and for whatever reason have dropped out of music for a number of years. After hearing the Second Winds perform at a local concert event the musical “bug” bit them again, and they decided to give the joy of making music another chance in their life.

Our Director, Mark Williams

Mark is a graduate of Arcadia High School (Arcadia, CA), and received a BA in Music Education from George Fox University (Newberg, OR) and completed coursework for a MA in Music Education with a minor in Instrumental Conducting from Western Oregon University (Monmouth, OR). Mark studied trumpet with Mr. Arthur Farr of Arcadia, CA; Dr. Dennis Hagen of Newberg, OR; and Ms. Sally Nelson of The Oregon Symphony (Portland, OR). For Instrumental Conducting, Mark studied with Dr. Dennis Hagen, George Fox University (Newberg, OR); Dr. William Tuttle, Portland State University (Portland, OR); and Dr. Richard Sorenson, Western Oregon University (Monmouth, OR). For Choral Conducting, Mark studied with Dr. John Bowman, George Fox University (Newberg, OR); Dr. Lawrence Marsh, Linfield College (McMinnville, OR); and Dr. Ronald Wynn, Western Oregon University (Monmouth, OR).

In addition to his duties leading Second Winds Community Band, Mark also is the Music Director for the Dayton Community Chorus (Dayton, OR) and is Minister of Music for Pioneer Evangelical Church (Dayton, OR). He is at home in Dayton (OR) with his wife Kathleen, two elderly pugs and, as a concession to his wife, he lives with assorted, random cats.

Want to join us?

Do you play a band instrument? Has it been gathering dust in the closet for years? Do you need a challenge beyond your high school or college music?

We’d love to have you join our band! We rehearse on Mondays, from 7:00-9:00 pm at Baker Creek Community Church, 325 NW Baker Creek Rd, McMinnville, OR 97128.

For more information, call: Mark Williams 503-679-9328 Sue Davison 503-472-7229

Volunteers Wanted

Volunteers are always needed for our concerts. If you would be willing to help setup or tear down for our concerts, hand out programs or to work at our Welcome table, please fill out the email form and let us know.