About

Meet Our Conductors

Ted Neely

Conductor

Haskew Smith

Conductor

Board of Directors 2025-2026

  • President – Michael Haynes
  • Vice President – Bradley Mitchell
  • Treasurer – Erin Mitchell
  • Secretary – Joe Elliott
  • At Large – Mary Jo Gifford, Clint Long, and Gary Schwartz

Our Mission and Vision

The mission of the Newton-Conover Community Band is to assemble members of the regional community who play brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments to form a musical ensemble, to rehearse this band with a selected program of concert band/wind ensemble music, and to perform that music in free public concerts.

Membership in the Community Band is not restricted by age, race, color, economic status, religion, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or political beliefs or affiliations.  The band is open to anyone, from high school age players to senior citizens, that have experience on traditional concert band/jazz band instruments.

Even though performing public concerts is the mission, meeting together as musicians and experiencing the joy of making music with others is our true vision. The Newton-Conover Community Band is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

General Information

  • There is NO Membership Fee for belonging to the Newton-Conover Community Band.
  • There are NO Auditions for either the concert or jazz bands.
  • Members’ ages range from Teens to Seniors, with ALL levels of musical experience.
  • The size of the Concert Band can range from 60 to 100+ Members. The Jazz Band is around 20 members
  • An average Spring & Fall performance season is 7-8 rehearsals and then a Free Public Concert.
  • Participation of high school students averages around 20% of a season’s membership.
  • The N-CCB is non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Band History

In 2005, the City of Newton, NC celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding with the Sesquicentennial Celebration.  Jim Stockner, the Band Director at Newton-Conover High School, sponsored an alumni band for graduates of the high school.  The alumni band was so well received by the former students and the public that it was decided to keep the band going.  This was the birth of the Newton-Conover Community Band.

The New-Conover Community Band sponsors both a concert band and a jazz band.  Except for during the COVID Pandemic, the groups have rehearsed and publicly performed every year since 2005.

Jim Stocker was the founder and lead the band from 2005 to 2016 when the band had many guest conductors, including Nickey Horner, Jack Horner, Brian Benton, and Haskew Smith.  Jim stepped down from leading the band in 2016.  Brian Benton, a former Assistant Band Director in the Newton-Conover City Schools, was at the helm from 2016 to 2018.

In 2018, Brian moved to the coast of NC.  Ted Neely (retired Catawba County Schools Band Director) and Haskew Smith (then Band Director at Newton-Conover High School) took over the running of the community band in 2019.  They were joined by Nickey Horner (then Band Director at Maiden High School), who took over the directorship of the jazz band until 2025.

The traditional season for the band was initially in the Spring of the year.  The band added a successful Fall performance season in 2023.