In December 1980, Hillsborough High School Band Director Edmond H. Wurpel launched the Hillsborough Community Band as an extension of the high school music program, inviting current and former HHS students as well as local adults to join the ensemble. His vision was to foster the lifelong enjoyment of music by creating opportunities for musicians to keep playing and performing as adults and by bringing students and community members together through music. Mr. Wurpel, along with assistant high school band directors Carol Mulreany and David Gwin and middle school band director Gary Smith, volunteered their time and shared conducting and administrative duties as the band grew to more than 70 musicians and presented several concerts.

In 1983, Mr. Wurpel asked his former Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) professor, Dr. Anthony “Tony” Isch, who had recently retired and was living in Hillsborough, to assume leadership. With strong support from the high school staff, who provided rehearsal and storage space and loaned music and equipment, Dr. Isch reorganized the group as an independent community band. On March 28, 1984, he led his first concert with the Hillsborough Community Band, a concert now recognized as the inaugural performance of what would become the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band (RVSB). As the band drew musicians from across the region, it adopted its current name and later became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Dr. Isch led the band until 1998, by which time it had grown to more than 80 musicians. He then became Conductor Emeritus and passed the baton to Dr. Jerry Rife, Professor of Music at Rider University, who served as Music Director through June 2001. The next Music Director was Dr. William Berz, Director of Bands at Rutgers University, who led the ensemble from 2001 to 2005. He was followed by Larry Markiewicz, who conducted the band from 2005 to 2013, and then by Dr. Christopher Sumner, who served as Music Director from 2014 to 2022. Dr. Berz returned to the podium in 2022 and continues to lead the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band today.

Over four decades after its founding, the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band continues to honor its roots while looking ahead. Building on the vision of Ed Wurpel and the leadership of Dr. Isch and subsequent Music Directors, the band has grown into a vibrant, volunteer ensemble that serves both its musicians and the wider community through performances, collaborations, and educational outreach.

The Raritan Valley Symphonic Band currently has approximately 60 members, representing a broad cross-section of the musical community, from professional performers and music educators to dedicated amateurs ranging in age from high school students to retirees. Its purpose is to enrich the musical life of the community, provide an outlet for individual musical expression and growth, and affirm the important role of the community concert band in American music.

The RVSB presents at least five free concerts each year in Somerset County and has also performed at the Association of Concert Bands national convention, the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) convention, and the John Basilone Memorial Concert. The band’s concerts are made possible in part by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

The band is proud of its tradition of supporting New Jersey artists and of bringing outstanding guest soloists and conductors to its concerts. Guest soloists have included Phil Smith, principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic; clarinetist George Balog; James Markey, trombonist with the New York Philharmonic; cornetist Bryan Appleby-Wineberg; tuba soloist Scott Mendoker; saxophonist Paul Cohen; clarinetist Maureen Hurd; and trumpet soloist Kenneth DeCarlo. Guest conductors have included Chris Wilhjelm, conductor of the Goldman Band; Chief Master Sergeant Edward Teleky, Drum Major of the United States Air Force Band; Lieutenant Commander John Pastin, United States Navy Band (ret.); and Joseph Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic.

The Raritan Valley Symphonic Band is equally committed to music education and community outreach. It sponsors free master classes and band clinics with its guest soloists and conductors, open to area music students and adult musicians. An annual Children’s Concert each February is designed to introduce young audiences to the instruments of the concert band and inspire a lifelong love of music.