About Us
Greater Greenwood Community Band is a 501(c)3 Not For Profit organization consisting of approximately 90 members. We practice at home, get together for rehearsals once per week, and deliver over a dozen top-notch concerts every year. We focus on quality musicianship, entertaining audiences, charity throughout the community, and continuously improving the impact of our performances. If you haven’t attended one of our concerts yet, you should!
How it All Began
The Greater Greenwood Community Band was conceived by Duane O’Neal after he found no ensemble in the area in which he could participate. With two of the finest high school band programs in the state located in Greenwood, he felt there should be an adult ensemble in the area as well. He contacted Jon Sutton, Director of Bands at Greenwood High School, about forming an adult community band. Sutton was enthusiastic about the idea, and through the cooperation of Greenwood High School, he was able to secure rehearsal space and equipment. He also recommended a retired Ball State music professor living in Greenwood, named Dr. Joseph Naumcheff, as a possible director. Naumcheff agreed to help O’Neal organize a group and to be the director should their efforts draw enough participants. Announcements in local papers enticed twenty-seven musicians to attend an organizational meeting in May 1993. The first rehearsal of the Greater Greenwood Community Band took place at Greenwood High School in June 1993.
Thirty Years Later
From its modest beginning, the GGCB has grown to 90 musicians and currently has a waiting list of people who would like to participate. It has become a community staple, providing quality entertainment, promoting musical education, and bringing people together in pursuit of creating quality and enjoyable music performances. The City of Greenwood, through the Mayor’s office, the Common Council, and Parks Department, has shown wonderful support for what we do to bring performing arts to the community. Since its inception, the GGCB has performed over 300 concerts. Those performances include the Summer Amphitheater Series, the Auditorium Series, featuring a Spring Concert, and the very popular Halloween and Christmas Concerts. They have performed at Garfield Park, band festivals at Terre Haute, Warren Central, Lawrence Central, Noblesville, and Carmel, as well as hosting their own community band festival in Greenwood. The GGCB was honored to be selected as the featured band at the Conn/Selmer Institute at Bethel College in Mishawaka in 2019 and 2022. The band has also completed two European tours, where they performed with community bands in the Netherlands and Ireland. The band’s focus on musicianship, entertainment, and continued improvement has made the GGCB one of the most respected and entertaining community bands in the state.
Directors/Conductors:
Joseph Naumcheff (1993-1997)
Edward Holeman (1998-2004)
Raymond Hauser (2005-2007)
Thomas Dirks (2008-2017)
Randy Greenwell (2018 – current)
Presidents:
Jerry Jerome
Jennifer Randol
Veronica Eddy
Steve Roskowski
Mission Statement:
After making music together for more than a quarter century, we have a long successful history behind us preparing for a bright future ahead. Check out our list of recent past concerts and enjoy our performance line-up for the much anticipated upcoming concert season. With financial support from a handful of kind sponsors, the City of Greenwood, and annual dues paid by our volunteer musicians, together we work to ensure that admission to our concerts are provided to you, our audience, at no charge.
Your show of support through generous donations (See PayPal link at right) and attendance goes a long way toward helping us fulfill our mission.
Mission Statement
“To reconfirm the presence of the community concert band in present day American music”