community band info

[brassbow]

I may be in a position to start a community band. I understand that directors can get a salary. If so: whats the average salary, how does a person get a salary if they are creating the band? Any info on this topic as well as HOW to start a community band would be great

[NCSUSousa]

Here's the story behind the Durham Community Band: http://www.durhamband.org/history
We don't pay the director. I don't know if he's got voting privileges on the board either. I know he doesn't attend all of the board meetings, but he has alot of creative direction in selecting our lit for the various concerts that we do every year.
The band generally grows by word of mouth. Being located in an area with multiple universities helps that.

I'm sure there are more knowledgeable players in my group who will be happy to answer questions. There's a contact link on the webpage if you want to ask more detailed questions.

[bort]

I'm not sure I've heard of salaries (apart from bands that are run through community colleges, where the directors are staff members).

I have heard of gratuities for the directors, that's maybe a few hundred per concert cycle? More than anything, the directors I've played for are paid just as much as the rest of us -- nothin' at all.

[rperrym]

Ours is a 501 non profit. We pay a University Professor as our conductor. The members can get a small tax deduction for mileage traveling to and from rehearsals. We have a board of directors, a CPA to keep things in line, and we do sell tickets for our concerts. That pays for music and the conductor's salaries among other things, such as insurance, etc.

Rick

[hup_d_dup]

I won't repeat what the elephant wrote … he said it well. But I will add this: because running a band (to say nothing of starting one) is a huge job, one of the first questions to ask is not about salaries, but is how are you going to form a board that will support you in this mission? Keep in mind that these will be people you are asking to take on a large part of your workload; none of them will ever get a salary. Do you have candidates in mind?

My suggestion would be to get yourself on the board of at least two community bands – there are always openings, and that in itself will tell you these positions can be hard to fill - and see how things work (and how much work there is to be done). Simply by being there you will get answers to questions like salaries (more likely stipends and expense remuneration) and many other matters.

Hup

[Dan Schultz]

Wade did a good job of describing things.

I founded The Old Dam Community Band (Newburgh, Indiana). Tonight... we are celebrating our fourteenth year after rehearsal. It's been one heck of a ride! A TON of work but the rewards are great. NO ONE in our band is paid.... Not even the librarian who sometimes spends twenty hours a week to keep our library and music folders in shape, the director, or the guy who takes care of most of the organizational duties (ME!)

The very first thing you have to do is draft a set of by-laws and a mission statement. Armed with that information, you'll next need to file for 501(c)3 status. Then you will be able to solicit grants, donations, etc. as a not-for-profit. Some will tell you that even without not-for-profit status you can still solicit grants and donations. That is true but those donations won't be tax-exempt. That DOES NOT mean you cannot pay a director or others. We have just chosen to donate our services for the good of the group. You'll need a Board of Directors and some officers. Structure is very important. We've been very successful and you are more than welcome to visit our website for more information about that... http://www.olddamband.com

You'll have to decide on your directions. Do you want to be a symphonic band that plays only grade five and up music? ... or do you want a group that is open to all? Our group was founded because I realized a need to have a place where 'come-back' and amateur musicians could come together in a comfortable setting to play music and share their interests. There are no tryouts. Aside from participating in community events like 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Christmas activities... we do public concerts when we 'feel like it'. There are not tryouts... no section leaders... and no official forms of membership except to 'come when you can and have a good time when you do'.

There usually is no shortage of professional and 'better' groups. Those groups are easy to find but tend to be intimidating to someone who hasn't played for thirty years. Our specialty is ferreting out folks who would like to play but aren't quite up to the rigors of 'having to be perfect all the time'. Once they are up to speed, they can choose to move on to those 'better groups'.

We are becoming one of those 'better bands' only by default. We still keep our material fairly simple. Easy music played well is much more enjoyable than tough music played badly... from both performer and audience views.

At this point we boast owning a parade trailer, an equipment trailer, timpani, bass drum, chimes, a 500 square foot performance canopy, a near-1,000 volume library, and office equipment. Plus... we have a very good relationship with a local middle school where we rehearse most every Tuesday evening. We've done all this on an annual budget of less than $5,000 a year!

The Band is fairly self-sufficient with personal donations from it's members and a few small grants. One of our biggest profit centers is The Little Old Dam Band... an eight-piece Dixieland ensemble made up of community band members. This group does not ask to be paid for performances but we gladly accept private donations.

Start a band. Have fun. But... don't ever lose sight of the fact that it's supposed to be fun!

[Larry49028]

One important thing to remember about community bands is that the members are recreational musicians who are voluntary members of the group. If you are the conductor, be kind, positive and have fun. Some conductors think they need to be tyrants, perhaps taking their cue from conductors they had in college. A former University of Michigan director comes to mind. If your players are constantly told that they're making mistakes or they need to spend more time practicing, they'll find a smarter conductor. They're adults and are giving everything they have ability and time for.

[bearphonium]

I think that Wade and Dan have summed things up quite nicely. I share the following information as a glimpse of some other bands and how they operate.

I am a member of 3 community bands:

A "New Horizons" band; I refer to it as the "over 40 beginning band". New Horizons is an international organization started by Roy Ernst of the Eastman School of Music about 20 +/- years ago as people came to him and either wanted to start an instrument or pick one back up that they had played as junior high/high school students. In Eugene and Corvallis, the NHB groups are small and not very skilled (I note that both are university towns and have audition only community bands in them as well). This band is sponsored by our local music store, members pay $30 per month dues (some need based waivers are granted) and our two directors are paid. I believe that each rehearsal is $100; if both are there they split it. We pay a grandfathered rate to the Eugene School District to use the band room at the middle school where one of our directors used to teach. The band goes from Sept-June, with dues paid from Oct-May (to account for school breaks, etc.) We have one summer concert in the park, and usually play at a retirement home or two. We have no officers, are not a 501 c 3, and have no input into music selection or responsibilities for music storage or management. ** In this band, I am what I call the "Sergeant at Arms". I collect dues and take them to the music store, handle the "uniforms" and organize the end of the year picnic.

The Springfield Community Concert Band. This is a non-audition group that is a 501 c 3. Our director is a band director in the Springfield school district, and we have (as far as I know) free use of the band room at Springfield High School. I don't know what he is paid, but I know that he is paid, for both our winter season (Jan-March) and our summer season (June-Sept). Our concert schedule includes two summer parks concerts, and a winter concert in combination with a HS Honor Band led by a former SHS band director. We have nominal dues of $10 per season, $30 per season for "chair sponsorship" and we solicit business donations. **In this band, I manage the Facebook page, and will probably be the webmaster when we decide to get a website. We have a band council that meets irregularly.

The One More Time Marching Band. Another non-audition group that is not a 501 c 3. Our director is one of the two NHB directors, and currently a middle school band director. He is paid $400 per summer (we meet May-Aug). Our performance schedule includes at least 4 parades, a summer parks concert, and several other community events (the "Slug Queen" coronation, held in conjunction with the Eugene Celebration, and an "all comer's track meet style concert" called "Get Your Chops Back" that we do with the city, inviting anyone to come and play in a real live band concert. These are our two constants, we have played others). We have $30 per season dues, which are waived for the music librarian. **In this group I am the band president, which means I herd cats for our annual meeting and other council meetings as needed.

I know that the Eugene Symphonic Band is the audition only concert band; they area a 501 c 3 and our other NHB director is the band manager for this group. They pay their director, have rehearsal space at a local high school and perform at one of the concert halls on the U of Oregon campus. They actively solicit donations.

[tofu]

I'm not sure I've heard of salaries (apart from bands that are run through community colleges, where the directors are staff members).

I have heard of gratuities for the directors, that's maybe a few hundred per concert cycle? More than anything, the directors I've played for are paid just as much as the rest of us -- nothin' at all.

I play in a Municipal Band which began back in 1859 as a LightGuard Band evolved into a community band and then became a Municipal Band in 1931 when the town past a band tax to support the band. That has evolved into .0025 addition to the sales tax on restaurant meals in the vicinity of our Performance Center which goes into a cultural fund that supports the arts in the vicinity of the restaurants who benefit from the people who come for the arts. We draw about 3-5 thousand for most concerts and maybe 10,000 for the 4th of July 1812 and civil war cannons concert. The fund brings in about 2.5-3 million a year for the cultural fund (defining what is cultural has proven to be in and of itself an art form for the city council) and we get about $200,000 for our annual operating budget. The city (about 150,000 population) built our performance center which serves as our outdoor concert center and also houses our two indoor heated/air conditioned rehearsal spaces, band library, storage areas and kitchen. This cost the city roughly $3 million. The park district maintains the park and seating which is in an amphitheater setting. The director gets a salary of about $25,000, the assistant conductor also gets a salary as does the band manager, the performance center manager and band librarian. The band members get paid per rehearsal/concert/parade. We play year round and have around 100 members.

The next town over also has a municipal band started back in the '30's paid out of general revenue funds. They pay the conductor around $20,000 and the band members are paid union scale (or they were when I was in the group). They only play during the summer in a band shell built back in the 1960's and have around 75 members. That city has put a cap on its annual contribution to the band budget (about $70,000) so this band has to do some fund raising on its own. The town has a population of 50,000.

My brother played in another local community band and they also paid their members union scale but they were much smaller - maybe 45 members and played out of one of those mobile home type trailers for maybe 8 summer concerts in a local park. The conductor I think was paid around $5000 and the town is around 25,000 population. I am not sure where the money comes from or if they are a community band or a muni band. I seem to recollect that it was done thru the park district.

I think you will find it hard to collect a whole lot of pay in a band that is just starting out. You will have to do several functions such as fund raising, being the librarian, recruiting (auditioning musicians) besides being the conductor. FInding a permanent funding source is really helpful. Getting a municipality/park district/community college on board would be great. Putting together a good board is a must for raising funds, running the organization , finding a place to rehearse and perform. Getting instruments such as percussion is a must and stuff like this isn't cheap. You also need to assemble a real core group of members who are essential for both running the group, finding an audience and community relations. Good Luck on your band. Here is a link to a group that may be of use.

http://www.acbands.org/

[MikeW]

One of our local bands is officially a "continuing education" evening class; the members have to sign up with the city and pay tuition.
I think that band's conductor gets paid a salary.
AFAIK all the other conductors either get an honorarium, or work for the love of it; Can't be much because it's paid out of the membership fees, which also pay the rent.