The Knoxville Community Band gives musicians of all experience levels the opportunity to perform in various concerts, including an outdoor concert series during the summer, other festivals and city events throughout the year playing an assortment of light classical, festive and marching pieces. The band meets in the band room at Northwest Middle School at 7 p.m. every Tuesday night.
Meet the Band
Director ~ Ron Rogers
I am a lifelong resident of Knox County. I am a proud 1978 graduate of Gibbs High School in Northeast Knox County. Following this, I attended the University of Tennessee, graduating with a B.S degree in Music Education in 1984.
I served as a high school band director for 37 years. I was the assistant director at Rutledge High School for one year (1984-1985). I then served as Director of Bands at Rutledge High School for four years (1985-1989), Farragut High School for twenty-two years (1989-2011), and ended my high school teaching career serving as Director of Bands at William Blount High School for ten years (2011-2021).
Following my retirement, I served as Interim Director of Band/Music Education Professor at Carson-Newman University (2021-2022).
I have served as President of the East Tennessee School Band & Orchestra Association 91990-1994 and 2004-2006), the Tennessee Secondary School Band Directors Association (1990-1992), the Tennessee Music Education Association (2010-2012), and the Tennessee Bandmasters Association (2019-2021).
I was honored to be inducted into both the East Tennessee School Band Directors Hall of Fame (2022) and the Tennessee Bandmasters Hall of Fame (2024)
My wife, Lisa (a very fine flautist herself) and I are proud parents of two wonderful children. Our son. Brett, just graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a degree in Music & Culture. Brett also served as Principal Euphonium for the UTK Wind Ensemble. Our daughter, Ally, is a first semester freshmen at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a degree in Bassoon Performance.
I am thrilled to be back on the podium and look forward to creating some incredible memories and music with the Knoxville Community Band.
Assistant Director ~ Joel Tillman
Joel is a private instructor of trumpet at Carson Newman University and a retired public school music educator
of 34 years. In addition to this, he has been able to maintain a freelance presence in the trumpet performance arena
in Knoxville and surrounding areas. Over that time, he has had the pleasure of backing artists such as The
Temptations, Mark O’Connor, Rachel Barton-Pine, Mel Torme, Judy Collins, Bernadette Peters and as a pit
orchestra musician for the Knoxville Broadway appearances of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. Joel has been a performing member of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, and the Oak Ridge Symphony.
Since 2012, Joel has been employed by the Roane County School System as a band director. He was also Principal
of the Oak Ridge Symphony, Solo Principal Cornet of the Southern Stars Symphonic Brass, and Lead trumpet for
First Baptist Church-Concord’s Studio Orchestra. It was also his pleasure to solo with the Oak Ridge Symphony
and the Southern Stars Symphonic Brass. Joeal has performed with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra,
Knoxville Community Band, and on several occasions performed with the former Knoxville Wind Symphony under Marshall Forrester.
Connect With Us
Sponsered by:
knoxvilletn.gov/recreation
All rehearsals follow with the Knoxville Communtiy School scheduling; please note that if the school is closed for any reason on a scheduled Tuesday rehearsal, then rehearal will be cancelled as well.
