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About Covina Concert Band

Instruments Don’t Make Music; People Make Music.
© 1998 Robert C. Praeger

Think of the trombones,
And of saxophones.
With no players to wake them, there’s no music, not even a sound. 
A drum-set with a snare;
Clarinet if you care.
They stay in their black cases, quiet and still, when no one’s around.
Hear no chords from marimba,
Or low tones from a tuba.
With people there’s some action, someone to wield our maestro’s new stick.
Get all that a truck can carry
Every tom, drumstick and bary
It still takes us all who care, to deliver the joy of music.

Dueling limericks

"A Man From Covina" by Bob Praeger

There once was a man from Covina.
His horn had that age-old patina.
He polished it grand,
Then tried for the band,
And now plays in Holcomb’s arena.


"A Man In The Sun" by Bill Lang

There once was a gathering in Covina
To find out what the hell’s a patina.
It led to a bum
Who sat in the sun
Selling polish & rags & a cleana

A letter to our growing list of friends: 
February 27, 2007

Dear Friends of Covina Concert Band,

            You are cordially invited to become a patron of Covina Concert Band and be a part of our non-profit community supported corporation. If you are already a patron please renew your membership for this season. We receive no general funding except what we can generate ourselves with the help of friends and fundraising efforts. With your greatly appreciated support, the band can continue to grow and prosper. 

            Covina Concert Band has provided crowd-pleasing performances year after year since 1956 and has become a Covina icon. In addition to our ever-popular summer weekly Thursday evening concerts in the park, and our annual Spring Concert and Christmas Concert (which are free), the band also attracts audiences to many performances at other venues within the local region. Small ensembles have been created from within the band to provide music for special occasions. The Covina Concert Band’s youth outreach program is also made possible, in part, by our patron support. As part of this program, young musicians receive valuable experience with the band to better enrich their musical talent, and have the opportunity to perform with Covina Concert Band at home concerts in Covina Park and our away concerts including Disneyland and other exciting venues. 

            Covina Concert Band has just ended its fifty-first season and continues to celebrate its golden anniversary. Our director, Dr. Don Holcomb, wielding his baton for his fifth year with the band, is our greatest asset. Don provides strong leadership and makes wise decisions; but more importantly he continues to hold the band dear to his heart. Accordingly, the band continues to grow in size. The recent addition of quality players, and the application of Don’s obvious conducting skills to our volunteer group, has encouraged a sound that the legendary Charles King, founder of Covina Concert Band, would recognize.

            Covina Concert Band has been doing an outstanding job expressing what it means to deliver the joy of music. Last June, the band traveled to the Poway Music Festival near San Diego and performed another one of Don's great programs. We were a highlight of the festival and have been invited to perform again this May. This February, the band went to Disneyland as they did last year. Again, as we performed, our sound drew people in from the surrounding areas. The audience could not resist the beat and tapped their feet, and some were dancing in the aisles. The Friends of Covina Concert Band can be proud they are able to support a community band of such quality. Covina Concert Band is indeed worthy of your support.

            Our variety of music is sure to please. Our repertoire includes marches, medleys, the big band sound, classical compositions, and music written for band by current composers. We attract an audience consisting of all age groups ranging from children to senior citizens. Our audience is important to us and we welcome suggestions.

            The activity of the band is not for profit. However, contributions to the band do produce profits for you and our community. There is an enhanced sense of well being, an increase in music appreciation that continues to renew vitality, and it can be found that for every dollar invested in the band, profits are generated within our community as a result. Your financial support is good for the band, good for the community, and good for you.

            Please help support the activities of the band with a tax-deductible donation, and become a recognized patron of Covina Concert Band for another exciting season. Help us grow and continue to deliver the joy of music, the legacy of Charles King.

Sincerely yours,


Robert C. Praeger
Corporate Board President
Covina Concert Band

One Remaining Time-Honored Tradition
By Jim Caldwell

Over the years it’s no secret that we Americans have experienced an erosion of our time-honored traditions of community life.  The Helms Man’s whistle is heard no more; the musical beckon of the summer ice cream truck is a thing of the past; and, the milkman no longer stops at our doorstep.  The Fuller Brush and Watkins salesmen don’t ring the doorbell.  Our children are no longer “turned loose” to play all day unencumbered, knowing that they’d make an unquestioned appearance at the “dinner table” that evening.  Kids don’t throw newspapers from bikes, knock on front doors to “collect”, or sell Girl Scout cookies at our door.  We have metamorphosized into neighborhoods of even-higher fences and cinder-block walls, with garage doors that open just long enough for the car to disappear inside.  The Elk, Moose, and Lions Clubs are on the Endangered Species List – even bowling night has two strikes against it.  Ice cream “socials” and pops concerts are fading into the past.  A lot of folks wonder who lives next door.

Yet – one great tradition remains!  The Concert in the Park thrives in our own backyard!  Thanks to the wonderful support of the City of Covina, along with the Friends of Covina Concert Band, the summer offers a chance to make a once-a-week escape from work and more work, the house, the yard, the cars, and the kid’s summer school homework.  Come on out to Covina Park on Thursday evenings all summer long, experience this throwback to simpler times and take a “siesta” from the “daily grind”.  We have a treasure trove in our midst and it’s called The Covina Concert Band.

“Wow!  That was one of the finest concert bands I have ever heard”, remarked an enthusiastic attendee after vocalist Nannette and the Covina Concert Band completed their compelling and passionate rendition of A Tribute to Judy Garland at the recent Southern California Band Festival in Poway, California.  Hearing constant accolades from an appreciative audience is nothing new to the director of this talented group of musicians.

Dr. Don Holcomb, along with his wife Mary, who is Director of Operations, beginning in 2002, have taken a small nucleus of good players and fashioned it into the current symphonic powerhouse of over 60 members.  The band consists of college music majors, music teachers, and band directors, along with musicians from all walks of life who come together and combine a love of music with a dedication to performance at a high level.  Building on a tradition that began in 1956, Don’s musical expertise and “fine tuning”, Mary’s talent for logistics, and strong support from the City of Covina, the Covina Concert Band has achieved a sound and mastery of a diverse musical repertoire, which is enjoyed by all that experience this unique blend of musicians.

Each summer, they will be performing at the Covina Bandshell in Covina Park from 7:30 to 9:00 pm every Thursday evening.  From an audience’s standpoint, they are a sure cure for “Blackberry Blood Pressure, Cell-Phone-It is, Bad News Overload, The Maalox Factor, 24/7 Kid Schedules, and Too-Many-LA Freeway Miles-Syndrome”.  It’s that rare chance to decompress, relax, reinvigorate and enrich your stomach as well as your mind – to eat, drink, kickback and hear a big band tune, experience a Latin rumba or a toe-tapping march.  Park the IPOD, pull the plug on the TV, come to the bandshell and re-bond with the family.  Introduce your kids to a time-honored classic, a western tune, a Duke Ellington, or a movie soundtrack.

Come on out and pull up your chair!  The price is right – free – and it’s an experience you and your family will long remember!  The Concert in the Park is one of the few remaining old-time community, musically-enriching traditions, unique to our American life, and it deserves to be savored and enjoyed.  It’s good for your psyche and great for your outlook.

The Covina Concert Band – Experience the Joy of Great Music and give ‘em a long listen.  They will reward you for it!

Click here to download the patron registration form.

Click here for a printable copy of this letter.

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Last Updated March 12, 2008 08:00 PM