Second Annual Virginia Community Band Festival

As part of the Charlottesville 250 Celebration, the Charlottesville Municipal Band and the Orange Community Band are hosting the Second Annual Virginia Community Band Festival at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion on Saturday, June 30. This free program will showcase twelve community bands and more than seven hundred musicians from across the Commonwealth of Virginia with each ensemble performing a forty-five minute program of marches, patriotic selections, and popular and jazz tunes. Small ensembles from some of the bands will also perform along the pedestrian mall leading to the Pavilion. During the Community Band Festival visitors to the Charlottesville Downtown Mall will have the opportunity throughout the day to enjoy music from the American wind-band repertoire, performed by talented ensembles from communities spread all across the Commonwealth and to visit the many merchants who make the Charlottesville Downtown Mall their home. Plan now to join us for a fun-filled day packed with entertainment and good music! The community band in America has evolved from the 17th through the 20th centuries, producing prolific and influential musical ensembles. Today, community bands not only serve civic functions and provide popular entertainment, they also serve other roles in American cultural life. Community bands provide an opportunity for senior and amateur musicians to be involved in music, a place for professional musicians to sharpen their skills and stay in shape, and an accessible medium for aspiring composers to try out new works, while continuing to provide civic-oriented entertainment on Independence Day and other holidays. There are over 2,000 community bands across the country, and more than 30 such groups in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Participating Festival Bands Include: 29th Infantry Divisoin Band (Petersburg) Alexandria Citizens Band (Alexandria) Orange Community Band (Orange) Stonewall Brigade Band (Staunton) Peninsula Concert Band (Hampton) Harrisonburg-Rockingham Concert Band (Harrisonburg) Second Wind Band (Charlottesville) Blacksburg Community Band (Blacksburg) Prince William Community Band (Woodbridge) Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble (Yorktown) Fredericksburg Community Concert Band (Fredericksburg) Municipal Band of Charlottesville (Charlottesville