About the Hartford City Band
One of the oldest continuously performing community concert bands in Wisconsin. Volunteer musicians. Free concerts. Since 1880.
145 Years of Community Music
The Hartford City Band has been playing for its neighbors since 1880. What began as a small brass ensemble in a growing Wisconsin town has become one of the oldest continuously performing community bands in the state. Through two world wars, a depression, and more than a century of change, the band has kept playing.
Every note played at a Hartford City Band concert comes from a volunteer. Teachers, retirees, business owners, students, and everyone in between. They show up to rehearsals on Thursday evenings and to the bandshell on concert nights because the music matters and the community matters more.
The band performs summer concerts in the park, spring concerts, and holiday programs. The repertoire runs from Sousa marches to big band standards to contemporary arrangements. The audience runs from toddlers to great-grandparents. That is the point.
The Hartford City Band is not about perfection. It is about people who love music making time in their week to play together and share that music with their town. It is about the kid in the front row hearing a trombone for the first time and the retired teacher in the back row who has been hearing it for sixty years. The band connects generations in a way that very few things can.
Our Values
Volunteer Spirit
Every musician in the Hartford City Band is a volunteer. No one gets paid. They play because they love it and because the community deserves live music.
Musical Heritage
For 145 years, the band has preserved the tradition of community music. Sousa marches, big band, Broadway, and contemporary works keep the repertoire alive for every generation.
Community First
Free concerts, open rehearsals, no auditions. The Hartford City Band exists for the community. Everyone is welcome in the audience and on stage.
Your Instrument Misses You
We are always looking for volunteer musicians. Brass, woodwinds, percussion. All skill levels. No audition required.
There is a chair with your name on it.