The Great Falls Municipal Band was established in 1883 in Black Eagle and later relocated to Great Falls. About 10 – 12 years ago, the band was sponsored by the City. Since they are no longer sponsored, the band started raising their own funds to support their musical performances.
The Municipal Band will start its weekly concerts on June 19th at 7 pm at the Gibson Park Bandshell.
The Great Falls Municipal Band currently consists of approximately 45-50 members, including band directors, retired band directors, Symphony members, and other talented individuals.
The band rehearses on Tuesday nights and performs on Wednesdays with a different conductor each week. According to Phil Burton, president of the board, “We usually use the school band directors throughout the district. Each one of them takes a night and conducts. They get a chance to conduct adults instead of kids. It’s good for them, and it’s good for us to get used to a different conductor.”
Anyone interested in joining the Municipal Band is encouraged to become a part of The Great Falls Community Band. The community band includes approximately 50-60 students and older adults who either haven’t played for a while or simply want to have the opportunity to play. The music performed by The Community Band is less challenging, and they practice for several weeks before each performance. The Community Band stages two concerts at the New Hope Lutheran Church, one in the fall and one in the spring.
There is also a jazz band, a smaller group consisting of 16 to 18 people that plays during the winter. The jazz band has two concerts a year, usually within a week of the Community band. “I’m in all the bands,” explained Phil. “Plus, some of us go to Fort Benton and play in the summer celebration there, and some of us go to Choteau and play in their band in the summer. The Great Falls music community is just awesome. We’ve got a great audience and a lot of people that like to play.”
The concerts are free admission with accepted donations. Along with passing hats for donations, the band also passes an old sousaphone around that people can drop donations into.
For more information on the municipal band, community band, or the jazz band, please contact Phil Burton at (406) 899-9982.
Author: Karen Anderson
Karen is the Editor-in-Chief overseeing all news operations at Foxys Publishing Co. She also loves photography and spending time with her dogs.
