Welcome to CBDNA

The College Band Director’s National Association began as the “Committee for College and University Music” of the Music Educators’ National Conference (MENC).  In 1938, William D. Revelli was appointed chair of this committee and began to expand its scope.

It soon became evident that college bands needed a group dedicated specifically to their concerns.  As a result, CBDNA was formed and held its first meeting on December 22, 1941, at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois.  From its first national meeting with 40 members, CBDNA has grown to over 700 members today.

Frederick Fennell, one of many notable founding members, later recalled:

“Our beginnings were far from humble.  We burst forth as the band’s most potent force at a meeting held in Chicago’s Congress Hotel in mid-December of 1941.  William Revelli was the catalyst, and a large number of us came to Chicago for the purpose of discussion that led to our official constitution as a national body.  My recollections of those meetings are vivid and pleasant.  Paramount to us all was the unanimous desire to organize in the simplest way imaginable and then to forget legislative and executive machinery.  It was feared that without maintaining this simplicity, our new Association would quickly assume the dispersed and complicated profile familiar to other organizations.”

Historically, CBDNA has responded to issues facing successive generations of college band directors. In this regard, our organization is no different today than when it began.  What has changed is the larger scope of issues college bands and their directors face.

As we engage with the rapidly proliferating opportunities and challenges of our contemporary world, we bear in mind Maestro Fennell’s injunction to remain focused on our people, our medium and our music so we may “burst forth as the band’s most potent force.”

To that end, much of our organization’s important work is done through our committees, and we have nearly 100 members working to serve our profession.  As president, I serve in collaboration with our executive board, our divisional presidents and nine committees, all driven by a shared passion to advance the interests of college bands, their directors and their repertoire.

Thank you for your interest in CBDNA and in college bands!  We invite you to join us in moving our wonderful medium to greater heights of artistic excellence as we serve our students, our campuses, and our communities.

Sincerely,

Michael Votta, President

CBDNA