The band ranges in ages from 7 to 94 and includes beginning musicians through seasoned players.

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - It’s just after 6 p.m. on a Monday inside the Bill and Kathy Cook Performing Arts Center on Jewel Way in Citrus Heights where Citrus Heights Community Marching Band members are about to begin their weekly rehearsal.

Citrus Heights Community Marching Band, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is preparing for a busy upcoming performance schedule that includes a Memorial Day concert at the Old Sylvan Schoolhouse on May 26 and a concert with the Mesa Verde High School Band on May 29.

The free, all-ages nonprofit organization plays a wide variety of music ranging from rock, jazz, patriotic to classical. Recently, the band raised almost $20,000 at its annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser at the Citrus Heights Event Center, according to Citrus Heights Community Marching Band Manager Sarah Hendricks.

Band director Kody Tickner soon asks individual members who needs certain sheet music.

Event proceeds go directly toward the band in the form of instruments and music purchases, uniforms and supplies.

Bill Cook, the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band executive director, welcomes band members as they arrive.

The general mood is decidedly relaxed. Long-time members, who have been with the band since it started in 2005, greet one another fondly and unpack their instruments from their cases, ready to play.

Framed group photos of the band throughout the years are proudly displayed on the walls around the rehearsal space.

Trumpet player Bob Martinez, 94, introduces himself as the band’s oldest member. Martinez said that he has enjoyed playing his horn since 1949 during a tour of duty in the California Army National Guard. A veteran of small bands in the Bay Area, Martinez is a fan of Big Band jazz trumpeter Harry James.

Martinez pointed to a group band photo taken several years back.

“It’s a joy to be able to play,” Martinez said.

According to Martinez, he will keep playing as long as both his lungs and lips allow him to hit the notes.

Proceeds from the event go directly toward the band in the form of instruments and music purchases, uniforms and supplies.

Band director Kody Tickner soon asks individual members who needs certain sheet music and some raise their hands. Music is quickly distributed and added to their binders.

By 7 p.m., some 70 band members will have filled the Bill and Kathy Cook Performing Arts Center, ready to get started on the evening’s rehearsal program.

The Bill and Kathy Cook Performing Arts Center is a donation from Bill and Kathy Cook, who were instrumental in forming the band in 2005. Kathy Cook died in August 2021, just weeks before the building was completed.

It’s not long before Tickner raises his baton to conduct the first piece of music of the evening. The members attentively follow him.

The individual sounds of woodwinds, flutes, brass instruments and percussion blend together to completely fill the rehearsal building as air is sculpted into beautiful sound.

Bill Cook looks on with a beaming smile, following the tempo and rhythm of the music being created around him.

His late wife, Kathy, Citrus Heights Community Marching Band founder and program director, would no doubt be smiling too at the musical legacy that the couple have given to the city of Citrus Heights.

The individual sounds of woodwinds, flutes, brass instruments and percussion blend together to completely fill the rehearsal building as air is sculpted into beautiful sound.

The Citrus Heights Community Marching Band was founded in 2005, originally intending to perform just once during the Citrus Height’s Red, White & Blue parade that year. Over the years, the band has become very well- known for its performances at community events around the region, annually playing at the Citrus Heights Tree Lighting ceremony.

The Citrus Heights Community Marching Band also hosts the city’s annual “Howl O’ Ween” Parade and Harvest Festival every October. It starts with a three-quarter mile parade along Auburn Boulevard featuring community organizations, neighborhood associations, schools and local businesses all dressed up in their spookiest Halloween costumes.

The band ranges in ages from 7 to 94 and includes beginning musicians all the way through seasoned players.

Margaret Gambill, who plays flute, was one of the band’s first members. Gambill fondly remembers the infectious energy and bright smile of Kathy Cook as she marched with her fellow band members in the Citrus Heights Red and White parade on Sunrise Boulevard.

Trumpet player Bob Martinez, 94, introduces himself as the band’s oldest member. Martinez said he has enjoyed playing his horn since 1949 during a tour of duty in the California Army National Guard.

“We’ve become a very close family through the years,” Gambill said. “I’m delighted to be a part of a wonderful group of people who meet once a week and it certainly has fulfilled my retirement years.”

Many Citrus Heights Community Marching Band members are new to music. A majority of them were musicians in school and stepped away from music to hold careers and raise families. Now, they are finding their musical talent once again in the band.

Citrus Heights Community Marching Band continues to need volunteers to help with events, equipment and uniforms. Members say it’s a fun, low-impact way to get involved in the community, make friends and be part of something truly meaningful.

The Citrus Heights Community Marching Band can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/CHCMB. If you are interested in joining the band or would like to volunteer, email the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band director Kody Tickner at [email protected].

Check out a rehearsal from 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays at the Bill and Kathy Cook Performing Arts Center located at 8436 Jewel Way, Citrus Heights. For more information, visit chcmb.org.