A single deep note resounds from a suburban church sanctuary. Another follows in unison. Next, a higher pitched note adds harmony. Finally, the full Illinois Brass Band balances the notes of a chord producing a signature sound – deep, mellow, articulate and decidedly sans woodwinds, strings and percussion. (Photos: Illinois Brass Band at rehearsal)

“Nothing against flutes and clarinets,” said flugelhorn player Jim Sobacki of Ingleside. “But with an all-brass band, you get a unique sonorous sound, with better intonation.”

Tuba player Bill Kaempfe of Mt. Prospect chimes in: “There’s a lot more depth to the sound. It’s nothing you’d ever get from a concert band or orchestra.”

Founded in 1991 by George Foster and William Homer, the Illinois Brass Band has won six national championships, performed overseas and presented dozens of concerts in the Chicago area annually. Membership typically ranges from between 25 and 30 brass players, including tuba, cornet, euphonium and tenor horn. The band is patterned after traditional English brass bands, with historical ties to the Salvation Army Band.

Members come from Antioch, Elk Grove, Mt. Prospect, Mundelein, Ingleside, southern Wisconsin and Chicago and other towns, to rehearse at the Methodist Church in Arlington Heights. At their latest rehearsal, they were preparing for a Dec. 12 concert in Round Lake and a Dec. 19 concert in Palatine.

“They’re all amateurs – meaning they don’t get paid – but they are all fantastic players,” said director Stephen Squires of Oak Park. “I love working with amateurs. They have a love for music that students and professionals have a hard time creating.”  Squires is also the principal conductor and professor of conducting at the Music Conservatory at Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University. He has also served as guest conductor for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Most of the band members have studied various instruments since grade school, with many continuing on in college and beyond while pursuing other  careers.

Matt Billock of Mundelein, a computer graphics designer who played French horn at Warren Township High School in Gurnee, recently discovered the brass band.

“I played in drum and bugle corps in college and after,” he said. But the all-brass band he discovered has a different instrumentation compared with an orchestra or symphonic band. Instead of French horn, there’s the tenor horn, and instead of trumpet, musicians perform on cornets. The tenor horn and cornet produce slightly more mellow tones than their counterparts.  Two types of tubas are used – the smaller Eflat tuba (which has a mellower tone) and the larger Bflat tuba.

The brass band concept began in Europe  when these groups were formed to keep coal miners away from taverns during their off hours, Billock said. Playing in a band gave them something else to do, and it also helped strengthen their lungs.

“Playing a brass instrument is supposed to be good for you if you have asthma,” said Cyndi Salata, the band’s principal cornet player from Antioch.

“The English brass band is really unique,” Salata said. “The parts are a lot more technical than if we were playing in a (symphonic) band or orchestra. So it’s challenging.”

Salata also plays and teaches the flute and helps with the marching band at Carmel High School in Mundelein. As a member of the Illinois Brass Band, she also has the chance to compete nationally as a soloist – and she’s won many first place prizes.

The competition and camaraderie drive these musicians, but they also enjoy performing.

“We are working on developing a bigger audience,” said Kaempfe. The competition is steep, he said, with so much entertainment available in the Chicago area.

“But if we can get people to come hear the Illinois Brass Band, they’ll absolutely love it and rave about it. And, there’s no better time to hear this band than at Christmas,” he said.

The Illinois Brass Band performs at 4:30 p.m., Dec. 12 at the Round Lake Cultural & Civic Center in Round Lake and at 3 p.m. Dec. 19 at Cutting Hall in Palatine.

For more information, go to illinoisbrassband.org.