Bob Bienvenue usually can be seen by the snare or bass drum or switching between different instruments in the percussion section of The Villages New Horizons Band. In the last seven years, Bienvenue has played among several groups, such as The Villages Twirlers and Drum Corps, The Villages New Horizons Band and the Veteran’s Memorial Park Honor Guard.
“I enjoy the camaraderie with the other musicians and hearing about their experiences in music,” said Bienvenue, of the Village of Mallory Square. “There’s always a story that comes up.”
He has been playing in the Sunshine Strollers for more than five years.
“We play fun songs, sing-along songs,” Bienvenue said.
Since 2019, Bienvenue has also been drumming in The Villages German Band, bringing back memories of hearing polka music throughout his life.
“The music has more of a march quality to it,” Bienvenue said. “Or you’re swaying with the waltzes.”
Until he moved to The Villages in 2013, Bienvenue had to wait for about 40 long years to reignite his passion for drumming.
He and his wife were on a lifestyle visit and happened to see The Villages Twirlers and Drum Corps perform.
“I said, I think I can do that,” Bienvenue said. “It looked like fun.”
He soon joined the group after settling here and played marching snare for about five years. One of his last performances with the group was at the Citrus Bowl Parade in Orlando.
In 2018, Bienvenue joined the Second Time Arounders Marching Band, a St. Petersburg-based band. The group performed in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2019.
Bienvenue, who served in the Air Force, also became one of the snare drummers for the Veterans Memorial Park Honor Guard after subbing in for another player.
“It’s great (that) we’ve got this going on,” he said. “I feel a sense of obligation. An officer’s commission is a commission for life.”
Since his early days, he said, his uncle has been a source of learning and inspiration for him.
Back in the 1960s, Bienvenue’s uncle used to appear in various groups on local Massachusetts TV channels. When Bienvenue was in grammar school, he started taking drum lessons from him. He picked up reading music fairly easily, but mastering beats took a while.
“At a certain point, I went, ‘Oh, man, I got it!’” he said.
Bienvenue played the drums in his high school’s marching and concert bands, usually on the snare drum. He had formed a combo that covered Herb Alpert tunes and even went on to win a local band competition.
He continued playing through college, where he played in a society band that could be found at weddings and parties.
Bienvenue served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, last stationed as commander of the Buffalo Area Defense Contract Management Area. All these years, he stayed distant from drums.
“There’s a lot of movement back and forth,” Bienvenue said. “I surprised myself during that first rehearsal. I was still able to keep up. My hands were mostly okay. I had to polish things up a bit.”
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun