About the Band
Our mission
“The Racine Concert Band presents diverse programs
of high artistic quality, in settings that are readily accessible to the
community, in partnership with school music programs.”
We are one of the oldest concert bands in
the United States providing FREE, public concerts of high artistic integrity.
The Band maintains a year-round schedule:
a summer series of 7 free concerts at Rotary Park, concerts in the Racine Unified School District high schools, and leads the Racine Fourth Fest Parade.
Our history
The antecedents of the band date to 1877, when Adolphe Schulte became leader of the "Hendrie and Smith Quadrille and Reed Band."
In 1882, the band was renamed the "Schulte Band." Henry Schulte, one of Adolphe's brothers, became the conductor after Adolphe moved away. Henry successfully lobbied the Racine City Council to fund band concerts, and the Racine Park Board Band came into existence in 1923.
To reflect its changing character, the band was renamed in 1967 as the Racine Municipal Band. In 1996, the name was changed again to the Racine Concert Band.
In 2007, the band was privatized, and the city council voted to continue to provide limited financial support and office space for the band, while freeing itself from insurance, liability, cartage, and payroll responsibilities.
Music Director/ Conductor
Since 2002, Mark Eichner has served as Music Director and Conductor of the Racine Concert Band, only the tenth band to be awarded The Sousa Foundation “Sudler Silver Scroll ” for outstanding artistic achievement by a community band. As a trumpeter, he has performed in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Philharmonic, the Florentine Opera, Present Music, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, the Woodstock Mozart Festival, and the Skylight Opera Theater. As a member of the quintet “BrassWorks”, he performed a nationally broadcast recital at the Dame Myra Hess Concerts in Chicago, and assisted the Canadian Brass in Wisconsin performances.
"An American Original" was the title of the Lecture-Demonstration he presented to a convention of the College Band Directors National Association at Ball State University, exploring the six band compositions by Robert Ward, a Pulitzer Prize winning composer and former Army Bandmaster. In recent years, he has contributed several arrangements and compositions premiered by the Racine Concert Band and Racine area school bands.
In 2014, he retired from teaching after 41 years as a music educator. From 1982-2014, he was the band conductor and trumpet instructor at UW-Parkside, where he founded the UW-Parkside Community Band, the WSMA State Solo & Ensemble Contest, and the Summer Arts & Crafts Festival. He was department Chair from 1998-2007, and received a UW Regents’ Award for Teaching Excellence in 1993.
Prior to his appointment at UW-Parkside, he taught at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma and in the Austin, Texas public schools. He earned the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at the University of Texas. His principal teachers were Tom Lee and Robert Reynolds in conducting, Richard Metzger and Frank Elsass in trumpet, and Cathy Kaiser in Alexander Technique.
Conductors
In its long history, the band has enjoyed admirable stability,
having employed only five conductors/administrators.
summer sweepstakes spectacular
♪ Every Racine Concert Band Quiz entry
will automatically be entered in the sweepstakes.
♪ You need not be present to win.*
♪ All prizes awarded during the last concert on August 17, 2025.
♪ 2025 GRAND PRIZE: TBD
* Racine Concert Band members and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Don Rosen is a broadcast veteran of over 50 years. Currently, he is heard mornings 6-9am on WRJN: 1400 AM, 99.9 FM and 98.1 PM.
Don and his wife Terry have always been fans of the Racine Concert Band Sunday night concerts.
RCB IN THE SCHOOLS: EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM
become a donor
Help keep the music going! Your gift, great or small, allows us to continue with our Educational Outreach program as well as providing FREE concerts throughout the year.
interested in Joining the band?
When there is a vacancy in the band, the position is filled by invitation to a musician who has previously performed as a substitute.
To be added to the substitute list, please send an email that summarizes your performing experience and your instrument(s). An audition is required.