Burbank Community Band
Musical Group

Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?
The Burbank Community Band is a concert band with volunteer musicians from across Los Angeles County. With a membership of 50 to 60 musicians, the Burbank Community Band is one of the larger concert bands in Southern California. As a volunteer band, the members have a range of experiences from professional musicians to individuals who have wanted to improve their skills on an instrument.

As the Band has a number of musicians, it also has a number of different instruments represented, from woodwinds, as the flute, clarinet, and saxophones to brass instruments such as trumpets, trombones, and tubas. With this variety of instruments and talented musicians, the Band performs a variety of musical styles from marches to music from Broadway musicals, to some jazz and rock pieces.

How did you first become interested in art?
The City of Burbank has had its own band for almost a century. What would become the Burbank Community Band was originally formed as the Lockheed Employees Recreation Center Band. Originally, a band formed by employees of the Lockheed in Burbank with a first record of that band’s rehearsals in April of 1940. The band was able to continue to thrive even after Lockheed moved its operations from Burbank to Palmdale.

A donation made by Lockheed to the City of Burbank was what is now Robert E Gross Park on Empire Avenue, just east of the Burbank Airport. This park holds a special place for the Burbank Community Band, as it is the location where the Band has had most of its rehearsals. Band rehearsals are Friday mornings from 9:30am to 11:30am. Over the colder winter mornings, this year the Band’s rehearsals are indoors at the First Christian Church of Burbank.

How does art enrich a community, and what are some ways people can engage with art in Burbank?
The Burbank Community Band is a special treasure for the City of Burbank and the larger community of Los Angeles. As already mentioned, it has become a community of musicians who come together for a shared love of music. The Burbank Community Band also has historically had several performances each year. For the City of Burbank’s Veterans’ Committee, the Band performs as part of annual Veterans’ Day and Memorial Day ceremonies at Burbank’s McCambridge Park.

The Band also has an annual concert. This year, the Burbank Band will have its first annual concert since 2022. On Saturday, April 2nd at 3:00pm, the Burbank Band will present its annual concert with a theme of music from around the world with pieces ranging from a Korean folk melody to music from Paris’ ballet. The concert will be held in the Hall of Liberty auditorium at Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills (6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles).

The Band’s annual concert and performances on Veterans’ Day and Memorial Day are free to the public. The Band also has also regularly performed for school performances, introducing local students to the great variety of instruments, their sounds, and wonderful music that a band like the Burbank Community Band can perform.

If you could share with our community one thing about art, what would it be?
The members of the Burbank Community Band know what great joy can come from music. How a cheerful song can lift spirits, a patriotic march can inspire pride, even a tender tune can bring comfort in times of sadness. The Burbank Community Band is happy to continue its mission of rehearsing music, to bring different musicians together and also to share the gift of music with Burbank and the greater community around Burbank. We certainly hope that it is not too long before readers of the Burbank Arts Newsletter are able to attend a performance of our volunteer band and perhaps talented members of the community will join the Band at a future Friday morning rehearsal at Gross Park.

To find out more about the Burbank Community Band, visit their website burbankband.org