About

About The Numurkah Town Band

Our focus as a community group is to serve the community with music and the promotion of music in all forms. Our members are all volunteers who come from many walks of life. Playing members do not necessarily have formal qualifications in music, however; within our ranks are members who hold very high qualifications; starting with our bandmaster who has a music school that goes by the title “The Mundoona School of Music” from where a number of leading musicians have emerged.

In our ranks, we have music teachers from Numurkah Secondary College bringing great music skills and band members who have been in the band for many years. We have also enjoyed the company of young members who sadly have had to move on to further their education and careers. We have welcomed visitors who have joined in on practice sessions some for old times sake and at others, just for the pleasure of spending time with like minded people communicating in the uniqueness of music.

We have enjoyed the company of Abe Monsborough in the past, the man famous for setting “The Man From Snowy River “ to music and his prowess as a Jazz musician. A former Band leader was Arthur Smith known for his exquisite trumpet playing who was formerly leading trumpet in the “Brian May ABC Show Band” for 20 years. Young members of the band or from this music community, have gone to travel overseas for future studies. Nelson Yarwood and Victoria Bihin are names to remember.
Numurkah also has a lively music community often presenting plays, musicals and community singing. Many of the bands members are also involved in this.

The Numurkah Town Band supports the various local churches and auxiliaries with music to support fund raising functions. We also play music at The Australia Day and ANZAC day ceremonies and the band is available for other organisations and individuals requiring music for their functions and celebrations.
          Although the band is a Numurkah creation we have also played at Nathalia and our members have travelled to neighbouring towns to join them in their bands.
          The culmination of our music year reaches a crescendo with a concert in the local town hall when we join with the Mundoona School of Music to participate when it presents its annual concert in November.
          The Music year winds up happily with Carols By Candlelight when the Town band joins in with the local choir in the joy of celebrating Christmas.
          During the Australia Day Awards of 2013 The Numurkah Town Band received the local community service award presented by the Moira Shire for being recognised as the “Community Organisation Of The Year” . During the award presentation, comments were made that the Numurkah Town Band was unique in that it was unusual in Australia for a town the size of Numurkah to have a town band these days let alone having it for over 100 years.
          Numurkah has a proud heritage with its town band if you want to read more about its history click here.