The Hampton Municipal Band began their 104th season of performances Wednesday night at Band Shell Park.
Under the direction of Chris Sauke, the band is composed of approximately 50 area musicians of all ages. Sauke tells RadioOnTheGo News the band dates back to the 1920s, with members from Franklin County and beyond.
“Back in 1921, Iowa passed an Iowa band law that allowed cities to fund bands in their communities. And Hampton was the second city to be approved for funding for a municipal band. The first city was Decorah. We have been continuously since that started. There are other municipal bands that have been longer, but based on the funding and that Iowa band law, we have been in existence the longest. So we have a couple of members that have played at least 60 years, maybe 65 years. And then obviously we’ve got some high school kids that are playing for the first time. So some freshmen and sophomores. And so it’s really fun to put that age range in the band together and let them all play together.”
Jeff Schmitt, who teaches instrumental music at Iowa Falls-Alden High School, has been a member of the Hampton Municipal Band since the early 2000s and says he enjoys performing with many other talented musicians each summer.
“Now that I’m a high school band director in Iowa Falls and I have a number of my current students, former students and some of their family members who are part of the band who drive up. And I know how this was a fun part of an important part of me growing up in music. And so seeing my own students find joy and involvement in doing that as well as, you know, Hampton’s my hometown. Growing up here, it’s always fun to come back here, have a reason to come here once a week in the summertime and play in the community.”
Performances will continue in June during the Tuesday on the Town events at Band Shell Park in Hampton with performances beginning at 8:00 p.m. You can listen to our full interview with Chris Sauke and Jeff Schmitt during Tuesday’s newsmaker.
