We are called the Auburn Community Band, however, we have members from not only Auburn but from Angola, Avilla, Butler, Churubusco, Columbia City, Fort Wayne, Fremont, Garrett, Huntertown, Pleasant Lake, St. Joe, and Speedway in Indiana. We also have members from Payne, OH

If you are interested in playing with the band, we rehearse every Thursday night from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the DeKalb Middle School during the year and at the First United Methodist Church on E. 7th Street during the summer. There are not tryouts or dues. The only requirement is that you love to play music. So contact any member of the band or e-mail us at prestrump@yahoo.com for any information or answers to your questions. We would love to have you as a part or our group!

The Auburn Community Band had its first rehearsal on May 20, 1982. At that time there were many musicians who had not played for a number of years. This was not a deterrent for any of them as they had a great love for music and were determined to play. The band did a total of three concerts that year. Now, twenty-six years later, the band does between fifteen and eighteen concerts a year and it is estimated that they have played approximately 370 concerts over its lifetime.

The concert locations have varied over the many years. The band has played at the beautiful Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum, at various parks, nursing homes, senior citizen facilities, Foellinger Theatre in Fort Wayne, Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio, and various locations throughout Northeast Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. For the band’s twenty-fifth anniversary year, they took a tour of Indiana and played four concerts at various locations around the state, including the Paramount Theatre in Anderson.

In 2003, the Auburn Community Band performed in Washington, DC as the representative of the state of Indiana in the Festival of States. They performed three concerts in the DC area including two at retirement homes and one in front of the Lincoln Memorial. A highlight of the trip was when the band went to the Congressional Cemetery and found the gravesite of John Philip Sousa. In 2009, the Auburn Community band returned to DC to perform at the Sousa Festival.

The band takes great pride in interfacing with other community bands in the area. They have done joint concerts where they will perform as a combined band in Auburn and then go to the home location of the other band. They have done concerts with bands in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

A venture that is very rewarding for the band is the annual Community Band Extravaganza. This is held on the first Sunday in August each year and as many as six community bands are put together in a mass band forum. There are typically 150 to 175 musicians in this mass band, which is held at the World War II Museum in Auburn. In 2008 the band opened Auburn’s new outdoor stage and made it their permanent home. This facility is in a beautiful wooded area in Auburn and has a 40’x60’ stage for a variety of performance mediums.

One of the areas that the band advertises is the fact that they have many middle and high school musicians in the group. They have had some musicians who were as young as eleven or twelve in the band and they stay with the band throughout their high school days and come back in the summer from college to play with the band. It is amazing to see some of these young people performing to a level they never knew they could reach simply because they are sitting next to a player who has been playing for thirty or forty years and getting help from that player.

The achievement of still performing after twenty-six years is one that the band is very proud of. Especially since the average lifetime for a community band in the United States is five to seven years. The band credits its longevity to two factors. Frist, the people of Auburn and the surrounding area who provide excellent support to the band. Second, the musicians in the band are committed to providing excellent music and are dedicated to the band (There are still three original members from the first night and twelve members who were there the first year). With support and dedication like this, the band expects to be around playing music for many more years.

Kim graduated from Ball State University with a B.S. Degree in Music Education in 1988. Later, she received a Master’s in Education and administration license from Indiana Wesleyan University.

In 1998 Kim received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year award for Dekalb County and in 2005 was honored in receiving the "Teach to Reach" Award presented by the Dekko Foundation. She also received the outstanding teacher award for Dekalb County from Wal-Mart

Kim is the Northeast Indiana’s Area Representative for Indiana’s Ambassadors of Music European Tour Trip. Kim has taught a variety of private instrumental music lessons since 1994 and is been currently teaching instrumental music in Indiana since that time.

The band is also blessed to have Mr. John Morse as our Assistant Director.

• Tom Laverghetta - President
• Ryan Wilson - Secretary
• Mary Anna Feitler - Treasurer
• Kim Randinelli - Director
• John Morse - Asst. Director
• Carol Hathaway - Board Member
• Dale Wagner - Board Member
• Jim Wells - Board Member
• Jenny Wilson - Board Member
• Dan Emrich - Board Member
• Janice Tilghman - Board Member