20040712 Westminster Municipal Band History by Sandy Miller

Westminster Municipal Band History

By Westminster Municipal Band Director Sandy Miller

July 12th, 2004

Incorporated in 1893 as the “Westminster City Band”, the band is now officially celebrating 111 years of sharing music in Carroll County and the surrounding tri-state area, but there are records of a Westminster Band dating back as far as 1860.

In 1916, many members of the band went into the Maryland National Guard under the heading "First Regimental Band of Maryland National Guard" and were sent to the Mexican Border. Then in 1918, the band went to France for WWI. After the war, those returning members and those who remained behind reformed the band into the "Westminster Band".

The band has undergone many changes throughout its 111 years. In the early part of the 1900’s the uniforms were tan but then the 1950’s saw the colors changed to our trademark Green & Gold. Another name change also happened in 1950 when the band reorganized under the name of the “Westminster Municipal Band” and the City of Westminster pledged some financial support to our group.

The Color Guard was formed in 1961 and this group sets us apart from the rest of the crowd when the band is marching down the street. A very significant change occurred in 1984 when women were granted membership to the band.

From the beginning, the band has been a totally volunteer organization. No one in the band is monetarily compensated to participate. Those that do participate are involved because of the love of playing music and sharing that gift with the community.

While many members live in the Westminster area, there is quite a few that travel some distance to participate in the activities of the band. Members travel from Baltimore County, Harford County, Howard County, Frederick County, York and Adams County, Pennsylvania and even from as far away as Connecticut and Minnesota. This organization makes members for life!! Members of the band range in age from 14 – 80 and there are no auditions or membership fees.

A big part of the band’s success is that it functions as a family. The group literally has many members of families as members of the band – fathers & sons; fathers & daughters; husbands & wives; brothers & sisters; mothers & sons – there are many combinations of familial relationships found in the band. But even more importantly, any person who expresses an interest to become a part of this organization is immediately an integral part of the total band family.

A strong support system of the band is the family members who do not actively participate as a uniformed member, but attend all of the band’s functions by sitting in the “groupie” section of the crowd.

The Westminster Municipal Band works very hard in the community to provide instrumental music entertainment for men, women and children of all ages. The band regularly participates in many of the local Firemen’s parades; Memorial Day celebrations in Westminster & Taneytown; July 4th festivities in Kingsville, Catonsville and Havre de Grace; and concerts in and around the Carroll County area.

The band has traveled in the Tri-State area of Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania participating in many large well attended parades for various events. The highlight of the Westminster Municipal Band’s playing season is the yearly trek in June to Ocean City where the band participates in the Convention activities for the Maryland State Firemen’s Association. Highly touted and proclaimed the “Official Band of the MSFA”, the band leads the giant parade each year down Baltimore Street.

Another part of the band’s success is the relationships we have built with the City of Westminster and the Westminster Volunteer Fire Company. As stated above, the City of Westminster has provided some financial support to the band since the 1950’s.

The Band and the City have worked hand-in-hand on many projects throughout the years i.e. the Christmas Tree Lighting held every year, the Westminster Christmas House Tours, and other events scheduled by the City where the Band could provide musical assistance and entertainment. The Band and the Westminster Fire Company have a long history together as well.

In the early part of the century, the band met for their weekly rehearsals at the Westminster Fire Hall located on Main Street. Many members of the fire company participated in the band also. In the middle of the 20th century, the band moved to the second floor of the “Old Stone House” located on Liberty Street in downtown Westminster. It was a great home for the group, but after the sale of the Farmer’s Supply Co., the band negotiated renting the 3rd floor of the Westminster Fire Company for Monday night rehearsals and some storage space.

In 1998, the Westminster Fire Company moved to its new home on John Street and with the help of the City, the band was then able to move to the old Armory on Longwell Ave. While this space served the band well, as did the Fire Company space, the band was again on the third floor. Unfortunately, this made it difficult for some of the older members to attend rehearsals so the band began searching for a place to rehearse that was on ground level.

And that search ended, again, with the help of the Westminster Volunteer Fire Company. The fire company was in possession of the old Plumbing, Heating Supply Co building. The Westminster Fire Company wasn’t using the space so members of the band approached the members of the Fire Company with a proposal to allow the Westminster Municipal Band to rent the showroom portion of the storefront. An agreement was reached and the band moved to 40 John Street in January, 2001.

In the spring of 2003, the Fire Company notified the band that demolition of the back portion of 40 John Street would be occurring but the area the band rented would be left standing. After much discussion with the City of Westminster and the Westminster Vol. Fire Co, it was decided that the Band working with the City and Fire Company could renovate the existing storefront to better accommodate the band’s needs. Members of the band will provide much of the labor, while the City is working to provide a portion of the funds to make this happen.

Work has begun and much work is still needed to get to the finished product. As a non-profit organization, the band’s funds are tied up in the day-to-day expenses and operations of the group. The band does charge fees for the concerts and parades it participates in, but the money is turned around to pay for rents (rehearsal and garage space), electricity, insurances, instruments and instrument repairs, music, uniforms, office expenses, and truck expenses.

This project is a major renovation to the inside and outside of the building. On the outside, a garage is being added to the building to house the band’s equipment truck and because of the demolition, an interior wall is becoming an exterior wall.

Inside, the restrooms were lost in the demolition so new water lines had to be run into the building and two new restrooms roughed-in. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC is also needed as well as drywall work. Work will be completed to update the current uniform storage area, equipment storage area, and the alcove leading to the garage. Finish work will include painting, flooring and placing ceiling tiles.

The renovations will enable the Westminster Municipal Band to have a place to call home for what we hope will be a very long time. While the City of Westminster is working to fund as much of this project as possible, the band is looking for sponsorships and donations to help make up the difference in costs. If you are able to give a donation to help us accomplish this goal, please contact band President Greg Wantz at 410-848-8852; c/o Westminster Municipal Band, PO Box 11, Westminster, MD 21158; or president@westminsterband.com.

Members of the band, Westminster City officials and employees, and the Westminster Vol. Fire Company have already given a lot of time and energy to get this project off of the ground. The band thanks the Mayor and City Council of Westminster and the membership of the Fire Company for all of their time and efforts as we work to see this project through to completion.

The band provides a very valuable service to the community. We give our friends and neighbors the chance to share their love of the musical arts by participating in a concert and parade band setting. If you are interested in becoming a member of the band, please contact Director Sandy Miller at 410-857-0344 or e-mail director@westminsterband.com.

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