This week, the band will perform two indoor concerts–which means neither rain nor heat can stop the music!

Join us on Wednesday, July 9, in the Marion High School auditorium. Music starts at 6:30 p.m. with the New Horizons Band and continues with the Muni Band at 7:30 p.m.

On Sunday, July 13, the band performs in Ballantyne Auditorium on the Kirkwood Community College campus. Music starts at 7:30 p.m.

Both concerts will be streamed live on our Facebook page.

PROGRAM:

Hands Across the Sea (John Philip Sousa, ed. Brion/Schissel)

Danzon No. 2 (Arturo Marquez, arr. Oliver Nickel)

Adoration (Florence Price, arr. Cheldon Williams)
Logan Vander Wiel, conductor

Chopsticks (Charles Owen)
Ben Hollinger, xylophone, Young Artist Competition runner-up

A Mere Moment (Michele Fernandez)

Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble, Mvts. 2 & 3 (Alan Theisen)
Rose Bishop, flute

Sinatra! (arr. Stephen Bulla)

Thunderbolt Galop (Fred K. Huffer, arr.  Andrew Glover)

Join the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band at Guthridge Park in Hiawatha on Wednesday, July 2, or at the McGrath Amphitheatre on July 6, for a performance featuring patriotic favorites and more. The band will be joined by the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale under the direction of Gerald Kreitzer.

The program includes “Back Your Boy,” a piece written during World War One by two Cedar Rapidians. Recently discovered by Coe College faculty member Bethany Keenan and arranged for the band and concert chorale by our own Dr. Shanley, the march brings patriotism and local history together. You can learn more here.

PROGRAM:

Galaxy March (Frank Piersol)
American Faces (David Holsinger)
The Six Service Songs (arr. Gordon Goodwin)
Ellington! (arr. Stephen Bulla)
The Stars and Stripes Forever (John Philip Sousa)
America the Beautiful (Ward/Bates, arranged by Carmen Dragon)
Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale
Back Your Boy (Henry S. Ely & Earnest A. Leo, arr. Steve Shanley)
Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond, arr. Gene Cokeroft & Steve Shanley)
Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale
Battle Hymn of the Republic (arr. Wilhousky)
Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale

This week, the band honors the legacy of Dr. Morgan Jones.

Dr. Jones conducted the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band from 1994 to 2010 after a long and distinguished career as director of the Hawkeye Marching Band. He passed away on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at the age of 86.

This week’s program will feature many of Dr. Jones’ favorite pieces from his time leading the band as well as vocal performances by Kelsey Madsen and a performance by trombonist Ben Allard, a Young Artist Competition runner-up.

The Wednesday, June 25, concert will be performed at Johnson STEAM Academy.
The Sunday, June 29, concert be performed at Ellis Park.
Music starts each evening at 7:30 p.m. and both concerts can be streamed on the band’s Facebook page.
(Info about finding our livestream can be found here.)

PROGRAM

Fanfare and Flourishes (James Curnow)
Finale from Symphony No. 4 in F Minor (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, arr. Vincent Frank Safranek)
They Can’t Take That Away From Me (George and Ira Gershwin, arr. Warren Barker)
Kelsey Madsen, vocals
Bugler’s Holiday (Leroy Anderson)
Chris Haas, Melissa Voss, Lee Stickney, trumpet trio
Amparito Roca (Jaime Texidor)
Concertino No. 4 (Ferdinand David, arr. Charles T. Yeago)
Ben Allard, trombone, Young Artist Competition runner-up
Fandango (Frank Perkins, arranged by Floyd Werle)
Mack the Knife (Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht arr. Marcel Saurer & Norman Tailor)
Kelsey Madsen, vocals
His Honor (Henry Fillmore)

This week, join us at McGrath Amphitheatre on Wednesday, June 18, and at Bever Park on Sunday, June 22. We are excited to be joined by Iowa Brass for a double header concert!

Please note: These performances have a special schedule!
7:00 to 7:45 p.m. — Iowa Brass performs
8:00 to 8:45 p.m. — CR Muni Band performs

Dr. Shanley discussed this week’s concerts on KCCK Culture Crawl. Watch here.

As always, the concerts will be livestreamed on the band’s Facebook page. (Info about finding our livestream can be found here.)

Week 3 Music

Bright Lights on Broadway (arranged by John Higgins)
Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma, arr. Alfred Reed & Mark Rogers)
Pop and Rock Legends: Elton John (Elton John, arr. Ted Ricketts)
Captain America March (Alan Silvestri, arr. Michael Brown)
Salute to Louis Armstrong (arr. Eric Osterling)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman, arr. Michael Brown)
Themes from “Green Bushes” (Percy Grainger, arranged by Larry Daehn)
Highlights from “Wicked” (arr. Michael Brown)
Whip and Spur Galop (Thomas Allen, arr. Ray Cramer)

This week, the band plays at Noelridge Park on Wednesday night and at Bever Park on Sunday night. Prior to the Sunday performance, the Cedar Rapids Youth Flute Ensemble will perform a prelude concert at 6:30 p.m. The Muni Band takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. on both Wednesday and Sunday.

Saxophonist Camden Neff, winner of the band’s annual Young Artist Competition, will perform Serenade for Alto Saxophone by Frank Bencriscutto. The concert will also feature music by Tommy Dorsey, George and Ira Gershwin, John Philip Sousa, and Karl King among others.

Each performance–including Sunday’s prelude concert–will be livestreamed on the Muni Band’s Facebook page.

Camden Neff

This week, the 2025 Municipal Band season gets underway! Join us for another summer of exceptional music.

Week 1: The History Center & McGrath Amphitheatre
Bill Carson, clarinet/guest conductor
Mayor O’Donnell, guest conductor (Wed. only)
Jillian Brock, vocalist, Xavier HS

Prelude Concert on June 8: Cedar Rapids Metro Youth Wind Ensemble at 6:30 PM

Can’t join us in person? No problem! You can enjoy our livestream on our Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/CRMuniBand
(Instructions in featured post at top of Facebook page!)

There will NOT be a Commission meeting on Friday. It is postponed due to travel of Commissioners and auditions.

NOTE: DATES HAVE CHANGED! AUDITIONS ARE NOW ON TWO CONSECUTIVE FRIDAYS: 28 MARCH AND 4 APRIL. Click here for updated flyer.

The Cedar Rapids Municipal Band, a professional concert band that presents 18 free outdoor concerts every summer in Cedar Rapids metro area sites, will be holding its annual auditions on Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29 in the band room at Cedar Rapids Washington High School at 2205 Forest Drive SE.

Openings are known for: Flute, Clarinet

Other instrument openings are possible. Substitute musician opportunities are possible on ALL concert instruments, especially Oboe and Percussion, so we encourage qualified musicians to audition.

Please click here to see the flyer. Share it as you see fit!

The 2025 CRMB Young Artist Competition will be held on Wednesday, 16 April, from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, in the band room at Washington High School, 2205 Forest Drive SE.

The competition is open to woodwind, brass, and percussion students in grades 9 through 12, who live in Linn County (or attend school in Linn County) and participate in their school band program. Applicants should prepare a solo or solo excerpt approximately 5-6 minutes in length. Use of an accompanist is recommended but not required. Audition pieces do not need to have a published band accompaniment.

The winner will be a featured guest soloist during one week of the CRMB summer season (June & July) and receive the Margaret Kegel Memorial Scholarship, worth $650. Runners-up may also be named, win a cash prize ($250), and have an opportunity to perform with the band.

Register for an audition time at https://tinyurl.com/2rjcxxem or by contacting Cedar Rapids Municipal Band conductor, Steve Shanley, at sshanley@coe.edu. Please register no later than Friday, April, 4.

See the flyer at this link for past winners, and please pass it around/post it!