Roseville Big Band History in a Nutshell

When Mark Lammers was the Kellogg High School band director, he proposed a community band to Frank Rog, the head of the Roseville Parks and Recreation Department, who enthusiastically supported the idea of an adult recreation band and a summer concert series. This was the genesis in 1964 of the Roseville Municipal Band, later named the Roseville Community Band.

The next year, he formed a stage band within the Roseville Municipal Band, and this group, which later changed its name to the Roseville Jazz Ensemble, later to the Roseville Stage Band, and finally to the Roseville Big Band, performed on Roseville Municipal Band concerts along with other ensembles. (He had organized other adult bands to read music on behalf of Schmitt and Groth music stores; Fred Christiansen, one of our recent members, was in these reading groups.)

For years, the Big Band was part of the Community Band, and the amount it rehearsed and performed depended on the interests and available time of the Community Band director. Bob Lancette, who led the groups from 1976 through 1987, was the first director to schedule Big Band performances independent of the Community Band. Starting in 1984, when the new Central Park band shell was completed, he added the Stage Band to the July 4 performances, which for years had featured the Roseville Community Band, playing immediately before the fireworks.

In 1988, the two organizations evolved into separate musical groups with different directors, both supported by the Roseville Parks and Recreation Department.

Directors Sam Marks and Paul Pizner introduced the Big Band to more difficult literature, some of which was included in the band's March, 1989, performances in Acapulco, Mexico. Paul also instituted sit-in nights, to allow interested community musicians to have the experience of rehearsing with the band.

Glen Newton began leading the Big Band in September, 1989. Under his leadership the band continues to play top-quality published arrangements and has added a number of unique compositions and arrangements to its repertoire. To expand the band's outreach, Glen began featuring student guest soloists, emphasizing recent graduates of Roseville Area High School, on the summer concerts in Central Park. He also added professional-quality vocals to the band's performances, beginning with Mary Lou Peterman in 1990 and continuing with the Rosetones vocal quartet and Karen Dunn since 1996. In 1998 the band made its first recording, Concert in the Park. In 2004, it re-released the CD with eight bonus tracks.

The band's web site, http://www.rosevillebigband.org, which Glen created in January, 2000, has provided timely information for local fans and introduced thousands of music lovers worldwide to the Roseville Big Band and its sponsoring organization. As of January, 2011, the site had over 76,000 visits.

The band's Facebook page often includes photo albums from performances and rehearsals.

The Roseville Big Band also has several videos on YouTube.

Roseville Big Band Personnel

Roseville Big Band Clients

Past Years' Performances and Other Events

Emails with Roseville Big Band News

This page was last updated
Thursday, January 05, 2023.