About the Yakima Valley Community Band (YVCB)

In 1919, an article in the Yakima Herald Republic announced that a 50-piece band was being organized in Yakima, supported by local businessmen.  It was an all-male group that rehearsed in school band rooms and performed in parades and park concerts.  This band represented the civic pride of the community of Yakima.

Around 1949, the band was absorbed by the Yakima Elks Lodge.  They played for meetings and parades and traveled to Elks conventions.  When the Elks moved their lodge to Selah, the band became the Yakima Community Band, much as it started out, and as it still is today.  Female musicians joined the band as it continued to rehearse in schools and play summer park concerts. The concerts were held in parks in all the neighborhoods of the city, but that left audiences unsure where to find the next concert. For many years, Randall Park, with its creek-side location, was the summer band concert venue. Currently, most summer band concerts are held on the lawn of Englewood Christian Church.

Besides the concerts on the lawn at Englewood Christian Church, the band expanded its schedule to include summer park concerts in other valley communities, including in Toppenish, Selah and Grandview.  The band has traveled beyond the valley to perform in Leavenworth, Goldendale, and Walla Walla.  As part of Community Band festivals, the band has performed at the Seattle Center and on the Seattle waterfront for their Maritime Days Festival.

The band has also represented Yakima abroad.  At their own expense, members of the Yakima Valley Community Band traveled to Switzerland in 1996.  A grant from the Petry Trust enabled that group to appear in the band’s new dress uniforms for concerts in Davos, Bad Ragaz, and in a historic band shell on the shores of Lake Lucerne.

In 1999, the band traveled to Great Britain, traveling through England and Scotland to perform.  Most of the concerts were arranged in small communities so band members were able to interact with the local people. Meeting local band musicians and sharing concert venues with them enriched the experience.

In 2000, the band purchased a trailer to replace the small fleet of pickup trucks that formerly transported percussion instruments, music stands, our public address system, and boxes of music to the outdoor concerts.  Having a safe system of transporting and storing band supplies and instruments led to the purchase of a set of timpani and other percussion instruments which previously were borrowed from school bands.

Since 1919 the band has continued to flourish under many excellent directors.

Board of Directors

  • Janet Roberts - President
  • Brent Elkins - Vice President, Marketing & Advertising Chair
  • Lisa Herke - Secretary/Treasurer
  • Joshua Parrill - Director
  • Rick Rodden - At-Large, Fundraising Co-Chair and Yakima Valley Big Band Liason
  • Sandy Gibson - At-Large, Membership Chair
  • Barb Hernandez - At-Large
  • Ruth Van Kommer - At-Large
  • Linda Hauff - At-Large

Contact us:

  • info@yvcb.org - Yakima Valley Community Band
  • bigband@yvcb.org - Yakima Valley Big Band
  • YAKIMA VALLEY COMMUNITY BAND
    PO BOX 9742
    YAKIMA WA 98909