DeKALB -- On Wednesday mornings during the summer months, Dee Palmer might treat himself by sleeping in until 8 a.m. rather than the usual 7:30. While the local community experiences the DeKalb Municipal Band only once a week at 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Palmer lives, breathes and is the band all week long throughout the summer.

He's been doing so for 61 years.

Palmer says Wednesdays are generally devoted to writing publicity for the next week's show. Preparations for the summer concert series begin each August, as soon as the season comes to an end, Palmer said. Lining up vocalists comes first, with musical selections for each concert following, since the music for each show must fit the season's guest singers and musicians. No small task, this part of the preparation can go well into the fall and winter, Palmer said.

"We have to prepare 120-125 pieces of music in a concert season," he said. "Our goal is to choose a variety of music. What we want to do is create a program that can't be found on a CD or regular radio."

With the summer's 12 concerts drawing diverse audiences made up of everyone from young people to casual concertgoers to music enthusiasts, musical variety is a must, Palmer said. He stressed that audiences expect variety in more than just the music, adding that opened much of this year's concerts with popular Broadway pieces to get the audience "up" at the beginning of the show.

"People love to hear familiar music," Palmer said of his efforts to play the hits people love. "Music instills such emotional changes in people, and you use that as a guide. I want people to leave that park on an up-beat."

Another aspect of Dee's weekly workload during the summer includes delivering to audiences the variety that goes beyond just the musical selection. He explained how he likes to get a little bit of background information to accompany and introduce each song the band plays.

Thursdays often find Dee at the local radio stations and the (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle, dropping off his weekly news release on the upcoming Tuesday's band concert. Friday through Sunday are occupied with more general preparation work by Dee. Music for each concert is due for distribution to the musicians every Monday for the next Tuesday, but not all the musicians get a chance to go over it until the day of the concert. So Palmer goes over the music throughout the week, highlighting parts of the concert that might be good to go over in the band's mere half-hour or so of rehearsal before show time on Tuesdays.

As show time approaches, Dee spends Mondays and Tuesdays doing the last bits of fine tuning for the show. He also does a weekly radio interview every Monday.

"On Tuesday, I go through the concert in my mind, make sure I've got the right timing," Dee said. "One of the things that's fun is planning the concerts, and trying to get the right mix. Doing the program ... of course, that's the frosting on the cake, don't you know."

While there are not many people who know Palmer's exact age, there are definitely quite a few people who'll tell you it doesn't matter. Commanding the show like the pro he is, a personal satisfaction with what he's doing is obviously on display each Tuesday throughout the summer. Having led the DeKalb Municipal Band since 1948, Dee says he hopes to lead the band for years to come.