Bands
Bands
The Coe College bands have a long and distinguished history of service to the college, the community and the nation. Established originally as athletic and military bands, the Coe bands eventually became part of the academic program. Today, the Concert Band is the centerpiece of the program, performing some of the great band repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as carefully selected transcriptions of orchestral repertoire. A Wind Ensemble within the Concert Band performs additional contemporary music. Coe's jazz band performs music of the jazz masters and newly composed works as well. The Coe College Honor Band program offers a supplemental band experience for nearly 500 selected musicians from high schools, junior highs and elementary schools in Eastern Iowa.
The Bands regularly sponsor two large music events: The Jazz Summit (usually the end of February), which brings nearly 100 high school and middle school jazz bands to campus for a competition and to work with professional jazz clinicians. The Jazz Summit ends with a concert featuring some of the clinicians as jazz soloists with the Coe Jazz Band.
The Coe College Festival of Bands (in April) brings a guest composer/conductor to campus to work with the Coe Band, and with the students from the Honor Bands. The Festival also features the Coe Jazz Band and several local guest ensembles, including the Collins Aerospace Band, the New Horizons Band of Cedar Rapids, and the Kirkwood Community College Concert Band. A number of guest ensembles have been involved, most recently the DIVA Jazz Orchestra (2026) and the United States Army Field Band (2025).
The bands also tour internationally on a regular basis and are preparing for a trip to Spain during Winter Break 2026-27. Visit https://www.coe.edu/academics/majors-areas-study/music/friends-music-coe-fomac to support the bands.