About Us

Our History

The North Little Rock Community Concert Band was founded in 1982 through the corporate vision of its founding conductor and Director Emeritus, Arkansas band legend J. Raymond Brandon, Mayor Reed Thompson, and twenty five initial band members.

Beginning on Sunday November 21^st of that year the band has played continuous seasons of free public concerts for North Little Rock audiences. The first seven seasons were played under the baton of now Conductor Emeritus Brandon.

Since Mr. Brandon’s retirement in August of 1989 the band has performed with its present conductor, Rico Belotti, on the podium.

The band presents three indoor and three outdoor concerts each season, as well as performances at other special civic events. The band is a proud volunteer support group of the Susan B. Koman Race for the Cure and plays each year along the race route. The North Little Rock Community Concert Band is a member of the Association of Concert Bands and has performed at the ACB National Convention. The band has also played for the Arkansas Bandmasters Association. The NLRCCB is a sustaining member of the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association.

The five-fold purpose of the band is:

To provide adult citizens with advanced musical proficiency an opportunity to continue their pursuit of music, and share their talent with others.
To upgrade the cultural spirit of the community.
To present formal concerts, admission free, for the community, and to play for certain major civic functions in North Little Rock.
To inspire student musicians to continue their music study.
To uphold the tradition of the concert band, and band music, in America.
If you are a musician, we invite you to attend one of our rehearsals and join us as a member of our band. Copies of our schedule are available from our conductor after each performance and on our website.

For more information about the band, including a schedule of rehearsals and concerts, go to www.northlittlerockband.com, call 758-2576 or write to us at PO Box 153, North Little Rock, AR 72115.

Rico Belotti

Our Director
Rico Belotti became the conductor of the North Little Rock Community Concert Band in 1989, succeeding the band’s founding director and conductor J. Raymond Brandon.

Mr. Belotti is a product of the public school music program in Little Rock and attended Arkansas Tech University where he was a student of Gene Witherspoon. After his graduation in 1973 from ATU he became the Band Director for the Marion, Arkansas public schools and taught there for fourteen years. In 1987 he moved to the Pulaski County Special School District where he was director of bands at Jacksonville High School for eighteen years. During his tenure as a high school band director he served the ASBOA in many capacities including being elected a Region Chair numerous times, chair of the All-State audition material committee and chair of the committee that oversees the list of music used in the annual assessment of school concert bands. He retired from active teaching in June 2005.

Mr. Belotti is a past president of the Arkansas Bandmasters Association and he is active as a contest adjudicator. He is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Natural State Brass Band, a British style brass band he helped to found and in which he plays first baritone. Mr. Belotti is a member of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, The American School Band Directors Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, and in 2005 he was awarded Honorary Life Membership in the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association.. He serves as music director of Swing on Scott, a monthly big band session that he and NLRCCB percussionist J.B. Cross founded and is the leader of the Swing Band Reunion, a professional big band.

A member of Christ Episcopal Church Mr. Belotti sings in the choir, often serving as a cantor, and is active in several facets of lay ministry.

He is married to Ginny Belotti who is also a retired Arkansas public school teacher. They have one daughter Leah Belotti Carnahan who resides with her husband Flint in Fort Worth, Texas

IN MEMORY

Mary Elizabeth Drilling (Trombone), passed away on 3/1/04. Mary Elizabeth was a band member since the beginning of the band and will be missed by everyone.

The Band also lost long-time loyal member Beech Laughter on 12/15/03. He played trumpet for years and loved big-band music. Beech held the honor of being the oldest and longest playing member of the band.