The first rehearsal of the Auburn Community Band began at 7 PM on Thursday, May 20th, 1982 in Fellowship Hall at the Methodist Church. There were many people there who had not played for 20 or 30 years. That did not really matter to them, they gave it everything they had.
That first year, the band played in four concerts, including the Fourth of July fireworks and before the Auburn Cord Duesenberg parade (which they still do). The band has done many performances since that first year. It has been estimated that they have played approximately 600 concerts of the past 39 years. They do an average of 14 concerts each summer and 6 or 7 Christmas concerts in late November to early December.
The band has been invited to play in Washington, D.C. twice. In 2003, they represented the state of Indiana at the Festival of States, where they played three concerts at various locations, including in front of the Lincoln Memorial. In 2009, they participated in the John Philip Sousa Festival, where they performed an individual concert in Arlington, Virginia. They also played in a mass band consisting of Auburn and bands from Massachusetts and New Jersey. Once again, this concert was in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
A celebration of the 35 years was a concert held at the DeKalb Outdoor Theater. An additional concert was held in Midland, Michigan, where the band played a joint concert with the Chemical City Band.
One area that the Auburn Community Band is different from many other community bands is the fact that, from day one, they have encouraged middle school and high school students to play in the band. The band does combined concerts with two local high school bands to let the young people know that there is music for them after high school.