Three Rivers Community Band Festival

The Three Rivers Community Band Festival was begun in order to highlight the community bands in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The first festival, sponsored by the East Winds Symphonic Band, was presented on April 4, 2004 at the Upper St. Clair Theater, and was a phenomenal success. The festival has since been an annual tradition each spring.

To be placed on the mailing list, or if you have comments or questions, please email festival @ ewsb.org.

The Festival Band conductor for 2017 will be Bill Garlette. 

Major Bill Garlette retired to Virginia in 2002 after serving over 25 years as an Army Band musician and officer. In his final tour he served as Deputy Commander and Associate Conductor at the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, NY, from 1998-2002. Since 2002 he has been involved with guest conducting, clinician, and adjudication endeavors throughout Virginia. Originally from Caldwell, New Jersey, Major Garlette holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from William Patterson College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in trumpet performance from the State University of New York. He also holds a master’s degree in conducting from Northwestern University.

Major Garlette joined the United States Army as a trumpet player in 1977. His first assignment brought him to the U.S. Army Element School of Music, in Norfolk, Virginia, as a trumpet instructor and rehearsal conductor. He also served as a trumpet player with the 26th Army Band, at Fort Hamilton, New York; and the U.S. Continental Army Band, at Fort Monroe, Virginia. As an honor graduate of both the Enlisted Bandleaders’ course and the Warrant Officer/Bandmasters course, he returned, as a warrant officer, to the School of Music as the deputy director of advanced courses. In March of 1985, he received a direct commission. He subsequently served as staff bands officer, 4th Army Headquarters at Fort Sheridan, Illinois; executive officer and commander of the United States Continental Army Band at Fort Monroe, Virginia; and at the Armed Forces School of Music, as assistant commandant, commander of the staff and faculty company, and director of the Army band officer course.

Major Garlette has studied conducting with John Paynter, William Revelli, Donald Hunsberger, and Eugene Corporon; and trumpet with Ron Anderson, associate principal trumpet player for the New York City Ballet. He has taught graduate classes at Old Dominion University, in Virginia, and at the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C.

Major Garlette was appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble in 2010. Since then, the ensemble has grown to 60 members composed of professional, semi-professional, active duty and retired musicians, as well as outstanding high school and college students from the seven city area of Hampton Roads, Virginia.

As Music Director, Bill instituted a vision of music repertoire that emphasizes genuinely American music. This includes wind band music that portrays the various styles that have become synonymous with our country – jazz, ragtime, blues, popular idiom (country, classic rock & roll, etc.), cultural styles, musicals, folk songs and, of course, our patriotic heritage. The band is known for music that is American in style; the essential popular idioms that have developed over the past two centuries.