History

The City of Fairfax Band began in the summer of 1969 when Matt Hynes, who was then band director at Fairfax High School, did the recruiting and held rehearsals for a concert on the steps of the Fairfax City Hall. That successful first concert led to a second, under the leadership of Philip Fuller, music supervisor for Fairfax County Public Schools and former Fairfax High…

In 1974, regular season concerts were established in the Fairfax High School auditorium, a tradition which continues to this day. The City Band’s schedule now covers some 20 concerts each year.

As the City Band’s size and ability grew, so did its reputation. In 1981, Virginia Governor Dalton selected the Band to perform in concert at opening ceremonies for the Yorktown (Virgina) Bicentennial Celebration, an event attended by 19,000 people. The week-long schedule included performances by other noted musical groups such as the elite French Marine Band, the Premiere Staff Band of the German Army, a…

In addition to the City Band’s growing number of invitations to perform at a variety of cultural venues, the Band takes great pride in its Guest Artist series. In April 1989, at the Spotlight On The Arts concert, the Band was honored to have as guest vocalist Dr. William Warfield, internationally known baritone soloist and star of Porgy and Bess and Show Boat . In…

In May 1994, Dr. Tom Hill retired, and Robert Pouliot was appointed the Band’s Music Director and Conductor.

In 1996, the City Band was honored with an invitation to perform, on June 14 of that year, at the National Band Association Convention in New Orleans. The NBA is the largest band association in the world, with chapters in the United States and eleven other countries. Each year, one community band in the nation is invited to play at this prestigious event before an…

In April 2002, the City Band hosted the annual national convention of the Association of Concerts Bands. The convention was attended by over 500 community musicians from around the country. Visiting bands which performed during the convention included the Rockville (MD) Concert Band, the Denver (CO) Concert Band, the Midland (MI) Concert Band, and the Chesapeake Silver Cornet Brass Band (DE). In addition, an ACB…

In recognition of achieving that goal over the course of many years, The City of Fairfax Band was awarded the Sudler Silver Scroll for 2004 by The John Philip Sousa Foundation. The Sudler Silver Scroll is regarded as North America’s most prestigious award for community concert bands. The 2004 Award was presented to the band by guest conductor Keith Brion during our March 19, 2005…

The City of Fairfax Band Association added a new community concert band specially organized for former players looking to get back into band music after a few years — or several, or many — away from their instruments, The new Main Street Community Band clicked right away, rapidly attracting a critical mass of re-emerging musicians who quickly got back in the groove of playing band…

The City of Fairfax Band marked completion of its 40th concert season with a gala concert in June, presented in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association. The performance was not only a fundraiser for that organization, but (in the 1st half of the concert) a moving testimonial to the human toll of Alzheimer’s disease, rendered musically in Mark Camphouse’s major concert piece titled The Shining City,…

The association took another big step as both a musical and educational organization when it launched the Northern Virgninia Youth Winds and the youth division of the City of Fairfax Band Association. NVYW is comprised of high school woodwind, brass and percussion students selected by competitive audition. Under the direction of Denny Stokes, NVYW supports instrumental music students, music teachers and the local music community…