The main season is a summer outdoor concert series Sunday Serenades & Musical Mondays The band also performs its annual December Pops concert at Powell Symphony Hall. The Band is pictured at right in Tower Grove Park. (Photo by L.T.Spence, Post-Dispatch) The Band features guest artists including the popular opera singers Hugh Smith, Tenor and Nicole Cabell, Soprano. Other singers are Robert Ellison, local baritone favorite, and Sigrun Hjalmtysdottir, soprano. Many instrumental soloists have appeared such as trumpeters Arturo Sandoval and Doc Severensen; marimba artist Debbye Turner; oboist, Alex Klein; clarinetist, Ricardo Morales; and many more. Featured ensembles have been Sukay, Music of the Andes; the Clarion Brass and Los Compadres Mariachi, Butchwax & the Hollywoods, Buckwheat Zydeco, and the Holiday Saxes. The Compton Heights Band has also featured unusual instruments including the theremin (Dr. Robert Froehner) and glass armonica (Carolynn Skyler). There's always something exciting to hear each year!
The Band rehearses year-round in the former Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at Lafayette & Longfellow. See Built St. Louis for photos of this beautiful facility.
Notables Club $5,000 and above
President's Club $2,500
Sousafanatic $1,000
Bandmaster $500
Assistant Bandmaster $250
Band Director $150
Band Member $100
Band Aide $55
Senior Band Aide $50
The Band was founded in 1976 by Harry Swanger, President, Bassoonist, and Executive Director. The Band is conducted by professional conductor Edward Dolbashian. The Band appeared on its own TV show "Sunrise Serenades" which aired for a year on KMOV-TV, CBS Affiliate with Harry Swanger and the band mascot, Moosic! The band concert experience has been expressed to the public through music, words, and even by a plein air painter, BillyO ! To read a vivid description of a summer concert, see The Sounds of Summer, written by Robert E. Knittel.
The Riverfront Times named Compton Heights Concert Band Best Entertainment Value on a Hot Summer Evening.
