All-Colorado Honor Band
All-Colorado Honor Band
The next festival February 27 - March 1, 2014.(Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon concert). Watch here for more information when it becomes available.
The Western State Colorado University Honor Band is held on the Western State Colorado University campus each Spring, usually during the first week in March. Auditions for the Western Slope Honor Bands are held in Fall. Specific information about the honor bands is mailed to individual high schools in September.
All-Colorado Honor Band and the Gunnison Volunteer Fireman's Benefit Concerts
How it all Started
In 1953 a committee of the Gunnison Volunteer Firemen approached the President of Western State Colorado University to suggest sponsoring two evenings of band music by the Western State Colorado University Band and its newly organized Honor Band for Colorado high school students. The proceeds from these concerts would be used to replace clothing and other personal equipment damaged in protecting the lives and property of Gunnison town and college residents. The plan was promptly approved. In 1990 the Western Slope Choral Festival concert was included as a benefit concert for the Gunnison Volunteer Fire Department.
In the fifty-five years since its inception the concerts have featured many of the nation’s most illustrious musicians, including the late Arthur Fiedler, conductor of the famous “Boston Pops” orchestra. Fiedler, who was a famous fire engine buff, inaugurated the tradition of closing the concert with Goldman’s Third Alarm March, in which the band is augmented by a motley crew of firemen, performing on a clanging of bells and earsplitting sirens of the avocation.
Western State Colorado University is proud of the Gunnison Volunteer Fire Department and appreciative of its efficient and indispensable contribution to school and community. These concerts are a token of that appreciation.
Firefighter of the Year Award
The Robert R.Williams (1927-1977) Memorial Award was established by the Gunnison Volunteer Fire Department in 1982 as a result of a fund created by the family of Chief Williams (1963-1969) in 1978.
The intent of the award is to give recognition annually to an exceptional firefighter for outstanding service to the community.
