Summer of Music: the Long Beach Municipal Band

The theme of this year’s series is “Music to My Ears” and there’s certainly enough variety to satisfy any set of eardrums. After opening June 25 with “Night At The Movies,” offering great film selections, the following weeks bring a wide variety of genres including patriotic favorites, pop, jazz and the music of Leonard Bernstein.

As programs go, it’s all over the place, quite literally, since the free performances take place at half a dozen city parks: Whaley Park (5620 Atherton St.), Los Cerritos Park (3750 Del Mar Ave.), Recreation Park (Recreation Park, 4900 E. 7th St.) El Dorado Park West (2800 Studebaker Rd.).

The ability to offer such a wide range of musical styles owes to the fact that the Municipal Band is not only the nation’s oldest, but is one of the most talented outfits of its kind, stocked with players whose day jobs put them in studios with recording artists as well as playing on film and TV scores.

Municipal Band Conductor Kurt Curtis acknowledges that what he’s asking of his musicians this summer is “challenging,” but said things tend to come together “when you have some of the best musicians in town.”

And so, when Curtis put out a call for musicians to take part in this, the band’s first full season in a few years – pandemic, you know – the response was immediate and overwhelming.

“The band has so much respect in OC and LA, these are top tier people, and they want to be part of something of quality,” Curtis said. “Part of that is the fact that we challenge them, and they want to be part of that.”

It was Curtis’ father, Larry, who, as conductor of the band for 27 years, is largely responsible for turning it into the prestigious outfit that it is today. Larry, who passed away two years ago, also taught in Cal State Long Beach’s music department. He was so well-respected that he attracted players from all over Southern California, so beloved that many students called him “Uncle Larry,” and so appreciated that an area of Marine Stadium, where the band often plays, was christened “Conductor Larry Curtis Concert Park” in 2021.

At the time, Long Beach Councilwoman Suzie Price, who had suggested the name change, said Curtis had “infused so much joy and fun and enthusiasm into the community as conductor of the Muni Band … adding his name to this park space is the perfect way to memorialize him.”

Kurt doesn’t seem as interested in memorializing his father as continuing his legacy.

“Dad just wanted to see the band continue to flourish,” he said. “And he certainly took it to heights it had never seen. Of course, so many people have played a part in this. There are the musicians, of course, but the city has played a big part with its continued support and the community is so passionate about the band.I just want to continue to play my part, because I love everything the band stands for.”

Kurt, who played trumpet in the band for 25 years, recently retired as conductor of the Disneyland Band and is now able to turn much more of his attention and energy toward the Municipal Band.

“I just want to enjoy focusing on the Municipal Band,” he said. “It’s been such a huge part of my life.”

When he talks about what the band “stands for,” he’s referring to much more than music. For him, it is about community, a coming together of families, friends and neighbors. He describes seeing young kids entranced, many times experiencing live music for the first time.

“You’ll be playing and you’ll see people laughing, kicking a soccer ball around while they’re listening,” he said. “It’s all such a throwback to a simpler time.”

Though Curtis says he has a “thing” for Broadway, he acknowledges that the movie music program, “Cinema Classics,” featuring works by film score legends John Williams, Alan Menken and Jerry Goldsmith, is always very popular, the irony being that “a lot of the musicians that play with us, worked on the studio sessions for the same movie music.”

Of course, anyone involved in music will tell you, there’s a big difference between playing in a studio and performing before an audience. And since the last couple of years have robbed most musicians of the opportunity to play live, Curtis says his musicians are very eager to get back in front of an audience and make the connection that makes performing “magical.”

““We live for those moments where we can connect with our audience,” he said. “We put time in the studio to be great at our craft, but the musical magic happens with the audience. It’s an emotional rush, it’s why we play; to inspire, and they’re part of it. That feedback, that connection with the audience, where the whole community culminates with this emotional crescendo. I can’t wait!”

For more information about any upcoming Municipal Band performances, click here.