History of the Houston Concert Band
The Houston Concert Band was formed in 1977 under the name of Bellaire Municipal Band. Then in October 1978, the band was incorporated as a non-profit organization and renamed to Houston Concert Band.
The Houston Concert Band’s first rehearsals were held in the backyard of one of the charter members, forming in response to a local service organization's refusal to admit women, but soon moved to the Bellaire Community Center. After the Bellaire Community Center was torn down, Houston Concert Band rehearsed in a series of churches and schools, including Alief Elsik High School, before moving to Rice University where the band continued to rehearse until moving to St. Thomas High School in 2013. The Band moved back to Rice in the Fall of 2016 upon completion of the new Gladu Band Hall.
Originally the Houston Concert Band was conducted by volunteers within the band until the band decided to hire a conductor. Since then, the Houston Concert Band has been conducted by Tom Stuchbery, Dr. Ken Dye (then Director of Bands at Rice University), and Noe Marmolejo (then Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Houston). In 2004, Chuck Throckmorton, Director of Bands at Rice University, became conductor of the Houston Concert Band.
The Houston Concert Band has played at numerous events ranging from concerts with local elementary, middle, and high school bands to Houston area festivals, senior centers and nursing homes to the Uptown Houston Holiday Lighting.
Throughout our history, the Houston Concert Band has striven to promote high-quality performance of traditional and contemporary band literature. The impact of our outreach program has been noted time and again as music lovers, especially students, have seen that their love of music can last a lifetime.
Fun Facts/Notable Performances
In 1985, the Houston Concert Band played during a Memorial Service for the Challenger shuttle team at NASA.
HCB received national recognition as it was asked to perform for the Association of Concert Bands at three of its annual conferences in Houston and Plano, Texas, and Lafayette, Louisiana in the 1990s.
HCB has played at the Uptown Houston Holiday Lighting every year since the event began in 1985.
Past Performances
To view programs from our past performances, click here.