Hello and welcome to The St. Louis Park Community Band!
A community band is a cultural link in the important chain we call life….Music has that ability to lift one out of one’s circumstances and carry one off to another world, if only for a moment or an evening. It offers a universal language, spoken as much by the heart as by the mind. Music is able to criss cross time and generations to create a common ground….The community band is more than an evening of toe tapping and hand clapping. It is the formation and continuation of a life long journey where , if we are fortunate, we find ourselves belonging to a town or village whose main ambition is to live life to the fullest, even in the toughest of times. – Rae Sedgwick, 2010, The Cheiftain
About Our Concerts
The St. Louis Park Community Band performs 8 – 11 concerts throughout the year. Our music includes a wide range of genres such as marches, show tunes, contemporary, classical, and traditional band music. We reach audiences of over 1,000 in the communities where we perform.
Leadership
- Our Fiscal Agent – St. Louis Park Friends of the Arts serves as our fiscal agent. They are a Minnesota 501(c)3 organization.
- Our Board – The board is the governing body of our organization. It consists of our director, the treasurer and five members of the band.
- Section Leaders – Each instrumental section has a designated leader. This person is responsible for managing the section’s size, monitoring attendance, and ensuring parts are distributed appropriately.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals are every Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM in the St. Louis Park Middle School Band Room.
Attendance and Expectations
Band membership is a commitment! Please be honest and specific about other commitments. Communicate with the director and section leader if your schedule changes.
- The director has complete discretion to drop someone from band if attendance and commitment are not what they deem adequate or necessary.
- Rehearsals two weeks before a performance are mandatory.
Everyone is Welcome!
The St Louis Park Community Band does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, election of Board members, awarding membership status, and selection of volunteers. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all band and audience members in the promotion and appreciation of music.
Joining the Band
New band members are always welcome! Please contact our membership coordinator to inquire about current openings. For the fall of 2024, the band has openings in percussion and bassoon.
If you are invited to join us, you will be asked to attend 6 rehearsals on a trial basis. At the first rehearsal you will be introduced to the band as a whole, so please be prepared to say something short about yourself. During subsequent rehearsals you may be asked to sit with different stand partners and read from different parts. At the end of your 6 week trial, the section members and the director will determine if you are a good fit for the band. If you are asked to join, you will be officially welcomed at your 7th rehearsal.
Membership Dues
Payment of dues by each member is required for participation in the band. The band’s fiscal year begins September 1, to coordinate with the start of our new season. Dues should be submitted to the treasurer no later than September 30th of each year.
New members who join the band later in the season will have their due prorated based on the remaining time in the fiscal year after completion of the trial period.
If dues pose a financial hardship for you, please contact a board member.
Student members age 18 and younger are exempt from dues.