From Little Acorns
Growing Community Bands
by: John Otis
Community bands are an American institution. So long as there are village bandstands, town parades, and Memorial Day celebrations, there’ll be amateur musicians donning uniforms and polishing brass to play Sousa marches and patriotic hymns that are the soundtrack of a community’s life.
But while playing in a community band is a lot of fun, organizing and running one is a labor of love. Unlike municipal and organizational bands, which often receive funding and support, community bands rely on the creativity of members to keep the bands marching on.
Planting Seeds
Community bands need to raise money. They need, for instance, to acquire the rights to music selections, or to pay for equipment and accessories. Then there are community bands with the ambition to hit the road. For these and other reasons, bands need to make sure there’s a steady flow of cash coming in.
The famous Allentown Band of Pennsylvania built themselves from scratch like any other band. They just happened to do it in the 19th century. But its members have clearly done something right, because they’re still swinging the bandstand 178 years later.
Theirs is a great example of how long a band can last if it has strong dedication from its members. So how does this group continue to get funding?
“We don’t do bake sales or car washes,” explains conductor Ron Demkee, 62. Instead, he advises bands to expand funding options by getting their name out there and increasing community awareness for the group. “We use the people on our mailing list,” Demkee explains.
The Allentown Band has a mailing list of 5,000 names, a large number, but all bands should have a list of some kind to work with. Just having a handful of names is an important start to building a large and loyal fan base. Creating guest books and organizing raffles are two ideas for building a mailing list.
Branching Out
While the adoring public may feel like donating some money on occasion, bands can’t expect the people to generate a large percentage of what’s required. That’s why the Allentown Band does more than ask.
“Every year, we make a recording from a performance and then sell copies to the public,” says Demkee. The band has been doing this for the past 20 years. Since the Allentown Band is so beloved, its fans are willing to pay for a tangible product that allows them to hear the band any time they want.
It’s quite possible for any group of recreational musicians to achieve the longevity of the Allentown Band. Thirty years ago, Charles Lietwiler, 72, founded the Rockville Brass Band in Maryland. This retired capital budget analyst had always been crazy about big brass bands. “I realized that if I really wanted to play in one, I’d have to start my own,” he says.
Lietwiler did just that, creating a community band primarily as an “adult recreational activity,” as he puts it. To get the word out, he used tacks, tape, and a stapler to mount flyers on bulletin boards and the walls of the public library. Today, his band has grown to around 25 members.
But Lietwiler wanted his band to be recognized as a more formal organization. With the help of some pro bono business advice, he learned how to get his band granted tax-exempt status by the IRS. Under this status, all donations made by himself or his bandmates are tax deductible, which creates an incentive for members, as well as fans, to donate money.
Like any hobby you become emotionally invested in, there’s a price, says Lietwiler. This hobby might get expensive at times, but it’s OK to sacrifice a bit monetarily if something is that important.
Fruits of Labor
Gerald Guilbeaux, 58, conductor with the Lafayette Concert Band of Louisiana, says the reason his band gets together every week is simply because they all love making music together.
The Lafayette band puts on about five shows a year. “We get some of our money by selling season tickets,” adds Guilbeaux. While those tickets fill seats and the band’s proverbial pockets, they would be irrelevant if the band hadn’t gotten their name out and drawn in the crowds.
Guilbeaux, a State Farm Insurance Agent, understands the business side of running a community band. “We have a great relationship with the editor of the local paper,” he says, explaining that the musicians submit articles about the band and its upcoming shows. One band member is a photographer and supplies the paper with pictures to run with the stories. “We actively pursue press coverage,” says Guilbeaux. His band has even been featured on the cover of the “Weekend” section of the Friday paper: excellent free publicity.
Just about every community band member has a day job. They make music a priority in their lives because they get enjoyment and many benefits from it. That love is why so many community bands exist and why the people in them work so hard to keep them up and running.
While funds are necessary for the continued success and longevity of a band, it should never become the primary focus or obsession of the musicians. “I live 50 miles away, but I drive to practice every Monday,” explains Marion Egge, who plays with the Allentown Band. Egge says that even though she has quite a drive, the sacrifice is worth it to her. “Everyone who has a chance to join a community band should take it,” she urges. “Doing something like this can only help you, not hurt you.”
Further Information
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