Music is for a lifetime 

The Canton American Legion Community Band was originally organized in the fall of 1927, about eight years after World War I. It won numerous honors before it was disbanded during World War II, and it remained inactive until Jack Judge and Al D'Attanasio reorganized it in 1960.

Over the years the band has won numerous championships and has appeared all over the Eastern seaboard, including Washington DC, Baltimore, Miami, Louisville, and of course, Boston. And we mustn't forget noteworthy appearances in Montreal and Quebec City in Canada.

The Band remained under the direction of Jack Judge until 2003. Though tough shoes to fill, Ed Russo took over directing until the fall of 2007. Gil Madrigale had the baton from 2008 until 2013. Mark Schirmer took the interim directorship though the end of 2015. Elizabeth Leehey directed the Band from 2016 to 2020. Gary Good came on as Director in 2021 after the Covid shutdown.

Today the Canton Community Band meets every Thursday, year-round, to play all kinds of music, - pop show tunes, big band arrangements, classical favorites, marches, rags, and cakewalks from the days when small town bands were popular.

We parade on holidays, and perform band concerts at fairs, and in parks, village greens, and bandstands all around the area. Our concerts recollect the spirit of an earlier time in America, of relaxed days gone by, of warm summer evenings and family gatherings in the park. Our parades feature the old time, crisp, red, white and blue patriotic marches that have been "footlifter" favorites for decades.

We have two main goals: 

  1. To provide musicians from Canton and surrounding areas the opportunity to take part in an active performing band for their personal pleasure and enrichment; and 

  2. To make readily available to the community a musical organization that can provide entertainment and cultural enrichment.

Anyone is welcome including high school students. An approximate high school level of proficiency, including some ability to read music, is needed.

The Canton Community Band is a member of the ACB (Association of Concert Bands).