About The Band
The Milwaukee American Legion Band, Inc., (MALB) is the oldest American Legion Band in the United States with a continuous history. The MALB is affiliated with the Oelschlager-Dallman American Legion Post #434 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
The current membership of the MALB reflects a wide variety of ages, occupations, and musical experience. While many of our members are veterans, military service is not a requirement of membership. Some of our members are professional musicians, but many are employed in other vocations and enjoy music as an avocation.
The MALB serves primarily the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. Each year, we perform public concerts in the fall and spring as well as a Christmas concert at our Legion post. We also perform private concerts at local nursing and retirement homes, and we are one of the regular headliners of the Chill on the Hill summer concert series at Humboldt Park in Bay View. Because our primary mission is to serve the military and veteran communities, the MALB performs each year at the Veterans' Day ceremony at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee and at the Memorial Day ceremonies at Wood National Cemetery (Milwaukee) and the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (Union Grove). We have also participated in Flag Day ceremonies in Oak Creek.
The MALB's repertoire ranges from popular music and marches to symphonic pieces. Qualified musicians 18 years of age or older are eligible to play with us, and upper-level high school students are eligible for junior membership. We rehearse weekly from September through June.
The MALB is organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and is governed by a Board of Directors elected from its membership.
History of the Band
The MALB was organized in 1920 by veterans returning from World War I. First incorporated in 1929, the MALB became a fully not-for-profit corporation in 1989. Over the years, sponsors of the MALB have included the Blatz, Pabst, and Heilemann Breweries as well as the Wisconsin Electric Power Company (now We Energies).
For 90 years, the MALB participated in competitions sponsored by the American Legion and other organizations. In addition to 55 State of Wisconsin American Legion Convention band competition titles, the MALB has won four American Legion National Band Contests. In 1934, the MALB won the American Legion International Band Championship in Geneva, Switzerland.
Also in 1934, the MALB had the honor of being the only group allowed to perform in Germany during the 14-day mourning period following the death of Field Marshal Hindenburg. In 1948 and again in 1951, the MALB performed extensive tours of the United States.
In 1989, the MALB was one of 46 international bands to participate in the 10th Annual Austrian Band Music Festival in Vienna, Austria. This trip also included stops in Germany and Hungary; we were the first U.S. group to perform in Hungary after the meltdown of the Iron Curtain. Several members who participated in the 1989 trip were also part of the 1934 group.
Locally, the MALB has performed in all 11 City of Milwaukee Parades. This includes leading the annual Downtown Christmas Parade 44 times and marching in over 20 annual Mexican Independence Day parades. We have performed for over 70 years as the official Band at the annual Memorial Day Services in Wood National Cemetery and provided many personnel on Bandwagon Bands for the Great Circus Parade. The MALB has performed in its entirety or in smaller groups at Summerfest, Polish Fest, Bastille Days, Festa Italiana, Maritime Days, the Milwaukee 4th of July Fireworks, and the Wisconsin State Fair.
Our Conductor/Music Director
Dr. Thomas Gamboa is the Music Director and Conductor of the Milwaukee American Legion Band. He is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Milwaukee Concert Band and the Director of University Bands at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts. At UW-Milwaukee, he oversees all aspects of the band program, guides the graduate wind conducting area, and serves as conductor of the New Music Ensemble and the Wind Ensemble, the University's premier wind band. An active community music leader, Dr. Gamboa became the MALB's Conductor and Music Director in the fall of 2023. He began his tenure as the Conductor and Music Director of the Milwaukee Concert Band in the fall of 2024.
Dr. Gamboa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Music Education and Music Performance in bassoon. He also earned a Master of Music degree in wind conducting from Northwestern University, where he studied with Mallory Thompson, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Michael Haithcock.
Previously, Dr. Gamboa was a conductor for the United States Air Force Band, where he held the rank of Captain and served active duty as the Conductor and Commander of the United States Air Force Band at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. He later served as Associate Conductor and Flight Commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Dr. Gamboa also taught at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, holding the position of Assistant Professor of Music and Assistant Director of Wind Studies.
As an educator, Dr. Gamboa taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District at West Adams Preparatory High School as the Instrumental Music Director and Music Department Chair. During the summer, he teaches drum major camps for high school and middle school marching band students with the United Spirit Association. He serves as the Chair of the Conducting Curriculum Team and has been teaching conducting for 20 years. Dr. Gamboa continues to be in demand as a presenter, clinician, and conductor throughout the United States and abroad.
%20copy_JPG.jpg)