History of the Band

In 1973, a group of retired and former members of the four major military bands in the Washington, D.C. area began discussions about the possibilities for continuing to play after retirement from the bands. They contacted as many other former members in the area as they could locate, and 35 or so of them came together in 1974 to form the band.

The original group did not constitute a full instrumentation for a concert band, so some additional players in the area were contacted and asked if they would be interested in joining such a group. Some of those contacted were wives of members of the group who were excellent players themselves, but had been unable to audition for one of the service bands because, when they were of the appropriate age the bands did not accept women in the ranks. By 1974, that had changed, but none of the women who had joined the bands were near retirement age. Articles of Organization were ratified on July 7, 1974, and Articles of Incorporation were processed November 1, 1974, in Washington, D.C.

Edmund DeMattia, formerly principal oboist with the United States Navy Band, was chosen as the conductor, and the first concerts were held in 1974. Over the next several years, the size of the band increased until the membership was just over 50. During this time, the band also made two appearances at the Canadian National Exposition and was a regular attraction around the Independence Day period at the historic Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire for several years.
Mr. DeMattia was one of the founding members of the American Concert Band Association (ACB), of which the National Concert Band of America is a member.

During DeMattia’s tenure, the band participated in some historic recordings. When Robert Hoe of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. began to produce his epic series of recordings, The Heritage of the March, he logically turned to the best bands in the country for performances to record, the service bands in Washington. Several members of the National Concert Band of America knew Mr. Hoe from their tenures in the service bands, and he became aware of our group as also being a source for performances to record. The band made two recordings a year for several years in the series.

The series of recordings, which made extensive use of the service bands, was not for sale, but was distributed free of charge to libraries and educational institutions. Mr. Hoe went to great lengths to gather music, some of it quite obscure and difficult to find, from throughout the world for this project. The series is without any doubt the definitive collection of martial music.

In 1991, DeMattia left the Washington area for a teaching and playing position in Alabama, and John “Fritz” Velke, a former member of the United States Air Force Band who had for years been Ed’s assistant conductor, was chosen to be the second conductor of the band. At that time, the titles of the band’s leaders were changed to Musical Director and Associate Conductor, and Dean “Buck” Wade, a former member of the United States Marine Band, was chosen to fill the latter role.

Velke was a well-known composer and arranger as well as a trombonist, teacher, and conductor. As such, he brought many new works to the band, some his own, but also including works of many others. Perhaps his best known work is the Concertina for Band, which won the prestigious Oswald Award of the American Bandmasters Association. NCBA audiences were extremely fond of and receptive to the programming.

At the end of the summer in 1997, Velke stepped down from the leadership of the band to allow time to write and arrange as much as he wanted, and to further develop his music publishing business. He continued to contribute significantly, however, as a member of the trombone section.

Upon Fritz’s “retirement,” Dean Wade was chosen as Musical Director, and Don Stratton, a former trombone soloist and Leading Chief of the United States Navy Band, was selected as the new Associate Conductor. During his tenure, Wade made a concentrated effort to extend the band’s instrumentation to the size of a modern concert band, including:

8 Flutes & Piccolos
2 Oboes
1 Eb Clarinet
16 Bb Clarinets
1 Alto Clarinet
3 Bass Clarinets
1 Contrabass Clarinet
3 Bassoons
4 Saxophones
6 French Horns
8 Cornets
2 Trumpets
4 Euphoniums
6 Trombones
4 Tubas
5 Percussion

The band has some members who are not available for a specific performance, so the total membership actually exceeds the desired instrumentation for a performance.

Regrettably, Dean Wade passed away suddenly in December 2005 while still in the role of Musical Director. Don Stratton, previous Associate Conductor, was elevated to the role of Musical Director following Dean’s passing, and served until June 2006 when he moved to Pennsylvania. Marshall Hawkins, our Associate Conductor at that time, has been assigned Interim Conductor while the roles of Musical Director and Associate Conductor are being addressed.

Today we are proud to have members serving the band for many years, and we continue to welcome Washington-area military bandsmen and other well qualified musicians to offset re-retirements and those who have passed away. With this level of experience and seniority, the band possesses an amazing combined musical experience base of easily over 3,250 person-years!