12/05/2025
Q & A with Jerry Rose, Executive Director of the Brass Band of Battle Creek
The Brass Band of Battle Creek (BBBC) is widely regarded as one of the premier brass ensembles in the world. Headquartered at downtown Battle Creek’s W.K. Kellogg Auditorium, the group brings together top musicians from across the globe for two concerts each year — one in December and one in May.
Downtown Battle Creek Zine spoke with BBBC Executive Director Jerry Rose about the band’s origins, talent, community impact and vision for young musicians.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
DBCZ: What is the origin of the Brass Band of Battle Creek?
Jerry Rose: “It's just kind of a freak accident that this whole thing started in Battle Creek. It happened to be that the two gentlemen who started the band are from the area, and the combination of their desire to start something like this and the WK Kellogg Auditorium being here… it just ended up being here. This is something that you would normally see in a much larger metropolitan area.
DBCZ: The concerts routinely sell out. What’s behind that demand?
JR: “W.K. Kellogg Auditorium only has 2,000 seats, and we only do two concerts a year. And there are a lot of people in Battle Creek. So getting the word out that this is something that's really exciting and entertaining… We also have worked hard to keep it affordable. Our tickets aren't cheap, but they are not what you would pay in Chicago or New York for this caliber of performance. We have tickets for $25 and give a lot away to students.
DBCZ: Who are the musicians that comprise the BBBC?
JR: “This caliber of group is considered to be the finest brass band in the world. If you're ever comparing us to other brass bands, we're kind of an unfair comparison, because we bring in top talent for just a couple of days… faculty members from 21 universities—Eastman, Juilliard, Indiana University, UCLA — freelance soloists, some of the top people that all they do is make their living traveling all over the world… principal players from top symphony orchestras like Boston Pops, the Florida Orchestra… the list goes on and on.
“Those who know — especially band people or people associated with any of the schools of music here or in other states — they know who the Brass Band of Battle Creek are. Our last concert had nine people from nine other states… It brings an economic impact as well, and a healthy, vibrant arts culture contributes to the health of the community.”
“It's just phenomenal for a city of our size to be able to offer something like that, and to be able to do it for 35 years has been wonderful. These fantastic musicians have been coming here for 20, 30 years and when they come back for a concert, it’s like they’re coming back to their second home.”
DBCZ: Why only two shows annually?
JR: “It costs money to bring people here, and fundraising can be a challenge. The community supports us very well, but the amount of times you can bring people in is limited. We have 21 different faculty from different universities, so the academic year and their performance schedules… make it impossible to bring people in outside of the Holiday concert in the beginning of December and the Spring concert in May.”
DBCZ: Tell us about the BBBC’s youth initiatives.
JR: “We have the camps during the summer… a five-day high school camp, three-day middle school camp, and those have these wonderful concerts in the end, because the students sit side-by-side with some of our musicians who serve as faculty.
“What we have been wanting to do… is to have youth brass bands that meet once a week during the school year and do a series of concerts… bringing in kids from all the different districts who are interested. It creates great groups. And by bringing in our artists as guests, and by creating the instructional environment and bringing in our conductor as guest conductor… we can kind of give it a special aspect that not every youth brass band or youth musical organization enjoys. So look for that in the future.”
