The Heartbeat of the Band: Our Mighty Music Library

Behind every rehearsal, concert, and parade, there’s one steady pulse that keeps the Jackson Hole Community Band moving: our Music Library.

Rescued and Rebuilt

Our library began with a major rescue. In the early days of the band—around 1990—we inherited more than 700 charts from the old Jackson Hole High School, saved from the dumpster when their music program shifted to jazz band only. There was no formal handoff—just a lot of hauling, a few good conversations, and a bit of luck.

Much of that collection is now out of print, delicate, and irreplaceable. Some charts are just plain fun. Two of our smaller cabinets hold Field Band music from the 1960s and ’70s—think Freddie’s Dead, Super Fly, Superstar from Jesus Christ Superstar, and By the Time I Get to Phoenix, all still waiting their turn.

A fun quirk of the JHHS library is that pieces like these are just quietly waiting to be rediscovered. Every once in a while, we pull something out for rehearsal that surprises us—sometimes for the better, sometimes not. (Yes, we played Rhinestone Cowboy at last year’s Old Bill’s festivities, but we won’t talk about that ever again.)

Some parts are so old they’ll crack or break off at the corners if you try to turn the page too fast—especially in dry winter air. Others are held together with brittle yellow cellophane tape, the kind that lost its grip decades ago and left behind ghostly brown stains.

That’s part of the charm. Not every piece survives the test of performance!

A few more gems worth mentioning:

• Bandology — a crowd favorite at Old Bills 2024
• Hosts of Freedom March (1920) — performed during the 2024 summer concerts and Best of the West Parade
• On the Trail (from Grand Canyon Suite) — one of my personal favorites, still untouched in our library; printed in compact Octavo format and waiting for just the right occasion
• Jailhouse Rock — from the Field Band marches, planned for this year’s Old Bill’s performance. Will it become a crowd favorite or the band’s next “what were we thinking?” moment? Only time will tell!

A Living Library

While the bones of our library are historical, the spirit is very much alive. Our music directors select each season’s Repertoire with care, pulling from older pieces we’ve never performed, concert staples from the archives, and 1–3 new pieces per concert. This thoughtful mix ensures variety and growth, keeping things fresh for both players and audiences.

Seasonal favorites like John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever and Leroy Anderson’s Christmas Festival are pulled out year after year, while newer titles—like Star Wars Saga, Hope Springs Eternal, and Willy Wonka—keep us current and challenge us musically. After several requests over the years—from me and other band members alike—we finally tackled Godzilla Eats Las Vegas in Spring 2024. It was a thrilling, challenging blast that most of the band loved, and the audience loved it too.

Bringing new and challenging pieces like these takes real investment. Music is expensive—some of our recent purchases have ranged from $55 to over $200 per Chart. Our annual music budget typically runs between $1,000 and $2,000, depending on what we need, what resources we can reuse, and what new music we want to explore next.

Keeping this growing collection safe and organized is a whole other challenge. We own the file cabinets, but rent shared space at the Center for the Arts to house our growing library—alongside the Jazz Foundation of Jackson Hole and the Jackson Hole Chorale. Our Music Library fills eight four-drawer legal-size cabinets, a taller five-drawer unit, and a pair of smaller cabinets with the old Field Band music. The old-school metal cabinets are still holding strong—though with the heavy weight of all that paper and years of use, some are starting to show signs of wear and will need replacing before long.

Old Bills Keeps Our Heart Beating

Most people have no idea how much effort, expense, and care goes into the music we play. From timeless classics to toe-tapping marches, the library is the heartbeat of every performance we give.

Our dedicated members volunteer countless hours distributing, collecting, sorting, and filing our music. Donations help cover the cost of it all—from acquiring new pieces and maintaining our systems, to insuring the library itself. Whether you’re a regular at our concerts or just love knowing that Bandology and Mah-Na Mah-Na are filed side by side somewhere in Jackson, your support keeps the music flowing.

Explore Our Music Library

Our entire Music Library is searchable online—yes, really! Whether you’re a player, a music teacher, or just curious about what we own, you’re welcome to browse by composer, concert theme, or title. Discover a favorite? Let us know! Your input helps shape what we play next.