ABOUT THE MILTON AREA COMMUNITY BAND
The Milton Area Community Band was founded in the spring of 2011 by Milton High School Band Director Brett Hosterman, the idea for such a group was inspired by Milton's long standing history of supporting the arts, specifically community based ensembles.
Milton earned prominence in the music world by being one of the smallest communities in the U.S. to support a full community symphonic orchestra. Founded in 1919, the orchestra was comprised of exceptional amateur musicians who did not receive compensation. Unfortunately the orchestra disbanded shortly after the outbreak of WWII. Since then, the community of Milton has boasted ensembles such as the Milton Junior Drum Corp, the Milton American Legion Drum and Bugle Corp, and of course, the Keystoners Drum and Bugle Corp, and now the Milton Area Community Band!
The ensemble is a diverse, all-volunteer wind ensemble whose mission is to provide high-quality and challenging musical experiences for its members while educating and entertaining family audiences in Milton and the Central Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania. The Milton Area Community Band is dedicated to providing an opportunity for life-long musical expression and enjoyment, promoting musical enrichment in our community, and preserving the rich repertoire and cultural history of the wind band. Through the preparation of four annual concerts of three different repertoires, the band offers a friendly and relaxed atmosphere that unites its members through their common love of music, all the while striving for the highest level of musicianship.
Brett T. Hosterman (conductor) is a native of the Central Pennsylvania region. Born and raised in Mifflinburg, he was a 2006 graduate of Susquehanna University where he majored in Music Education with an emphasis in Organ Performance.
He is currently employed by the Milton Area School District where he serves as the Middle School and High School band director. His responsibilities include directing middle school concert band, high school concert band, marching band, jazz band, and
spring music pit orchestra, in addition to teaching courses in Music Theory and Music History/Appreciation. Hosterman is currently finishing his Masters Degree in Wind Conducting through Messiah College and was recently honored as the 2011 recipient of the Russell Galt Award for Excellence in Teaching at the secondary level by Susquehanna University.
Hosterman has devoted his career to not only providing the best musical education and experiences for the students of the Milton Area School District, but also to the community of Milton. Through various initiatives, he has enhanced the culture that is present in his community. In 2007 he started the Milton Harvest Festival Tournament of Bands competition and in 2011 he founded the Milton Community Band which now boasts close to one hundred members from the community of Milton and surrounding areas.
Professionally, Hosterman currently serves as the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association - District 8 President and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Music Education at Lycoming College where he teaches a course in Secondary Methods.
