About us

The Golden Eagle Concert Band (GECB) is a 70 piece all-volunteer adult community band consisting of men and women of all ages and backgrounds. We are active throughout the Denver metropolitan area and the state of Colorado. The versatility of the GECB music collection includes Marches, Patriotic, Pop, Classical, Jazz, Rock, Broadway show tunes, TV themes, Big Band music, and more.

Our performances include four formal concerts each year at Wheat Ridge Center for Music and Arts. The band also performs many indoor and outdoor concerts during the summer for the general public, retirement communities, festivals, churches, and private organizations. The band recently performed at the City of Golden July 4th festivities.

The band rehearses weekly throughout the year, with the exception of December, on Thursday evenings at Wheat Ridge Center for Music and Arts located at 7530 West 38th Ave in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

OUR HISTORY

Founded in 1977, the Golden Eagle Concert Band was originally called the Gold Nugget Brass Band and was owned and directed by Don Smith, a former circus trumpet player. After fourteen years, Don Smith decided to retire and started to dissolve the band. The band members wanted to continue playing, so the name was changed to the Golden Eagle Brass Band and the non-profit organization was formed in 1991.

In 1996, the GECB became an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which made the band eligible for grants from corporations, foundations, and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). The GECB has received grants from the SCFD Tier III in Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties and private donations. In 2007, the Band changed its name to the Golden Eagle Concert Band, which more accurately represented the instrumentation of the band.

The goals of the Golden Eagle Concert Band are: (1) to provide concerts that educate and entertain Colorado communities with music from many different genres and (2) to further opportunities for adult musicians with various levels of proficiency to develop their musical skills and participate in a concert band.

OUR CONDUCTORS

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Principal Conductor - Ilse Reardon

The Golden Eagle Concert Band welcomes Ilse Reardon to the podium after a conductor search with many amazing candidates! It was no surprise when the band overwhelmingly chose Ilse, whose presence on the podium was warm, positive, and inviting. She immediately connected with band members and we are excited to work with her!Ilse taught band in the Wheat Ridge area for the last 17 years. She currently teaches 5th-8th grade band at 6 schools including Everitt Middle School, Maple Grove Elementary School, Peak Expeditionary School, Prospect Valley Elementary School and Stevens Elementary School. She is responsible for starting 5th grade students on their instruments and helping them develop their musicianship and skills for four years until they are ready for high school.

She has also coached high school musicians at Wheat Ridge High School, Lakewood High School, Loveland High School and Arvada High School. Ilse has been active in community bands and orchestras in Denver and has performed with the Denver Pops Orchestra, the Littleton Symphony, the Wild Beautiful Orchestra, the Boulder Concert Band, and the Colorado Wind Ensemble.

Mrs. Reardon holds a Bachelor's of Music in Oboe Performance and a Bachelor's of Music Education at the University of Colorado where she studied oboe with Peter Cooper and conducting with Alan McMurray and Matthew Roeder. Finally she completed a Masters Degree at the American Band College at Sam Houston State University where she studied extensive band pedagogy as well as collaborated with some of the greatest band composers and conductors in the world. She's also played oboe with many groups including the Denver Pops Orchestra, the Boulder Concert Band, the Littleton Symphony, the Lakewood Symphony and the Colorado Wind Ensemble. Ilse lives in Denver with her two children, Jack and Owen who are 6 and 4 years old, her husband John, and her dog, Grimm. Currently her life is filled with Pokemon, ocean animals and BAND!