SLV Community Band History

The current San Lorenzo Valley Community Band has been active since 1994. The thrust for this band has its roots embedded in the idea that it is important to see that music is taught in the public schools of San Lorenzo Valley. At our inception, the local schools were cutting out elementary music instruction, the effects of this were already showing in the enrollment in the high school band program.

Through the efforts of Teresa Roffe and a small core of dedicated musicians, the band set out to play concerts in the schools to expose the students to instruments of the concert band. The band played at back to school nights and open houses as a way of giving exposure to parents and students and spreading the word that music was fun and important to education of every student.

Following the cancellation of the band program at the junior high school, the SLV Community Band launched a free lesson program for elementary students in grades 4-6 to introduce students to band instruments. With Jon Christian, conductor of the high school band and the community band, acting as mentor, the members taught the young students in small groups of like instruments in once a week lessons of 45 minutes. With the cooperation of the junior high school, we had use of several classrooms close to the band room. Through these efforts, the band program at the junior high was reinstated and a number of the students we started became part of that band.

Thanks to the efforts of school district personnel and members of the community, the school district received grant money from the Packard Foundation to reinstate music instruction at the elementary.

Through all of this, the SLV Community Band was carrying out another of its goals, to provide support for the high school by playing in the community for donations. Just recently the band has expanded its support to include the recently established San Lorenzo Valley Middle School. Since 2000, the band has collected over $14,000 in pure cash donations and has purchased over $7,000 in band music which has been donated to the San Lorenzo Valley Schools' band library.

See About the Band for more information.