Our Mission
SaddleBrooke Winds and Strings is a non-profit, educational, community-based association comprised of musicians dedicated to the performance of concert band music who come together on a regular basis to rehearse and perform for the benefit and education of the Southern Arizona community.
Our History
The band which became SaddleBrooke Winds and Strings began in 2013 due to the efforts of Jim Van Brocklin and others. Here is his account of how the band got started.
“After Earlene Lewis "bugged me" about starting a band in the summer of 2013, I invited a handful of musicians to join a couple of Earlene's friends in her family room. The band grew by one or two a week until the family room was too small. We then became a garage band at my house and Charles Riddell became the conductor. Our first "gig" was at the ballpark. After Ed Sand became conductor, the band grew rapidly. The band reached new levels of entertainment with the assist of Marie Lopez and her husband, Eddie. It was knocked back with the Covid pandemic and appears to be on a roll at this time.”
