Kicking Off Summer With Ice Cream & Music
Efforts To Name Bandshell After Jerry Endsley Underway
By Greg Davis
Special to the GPHN
June 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. marks the date and time of this year’s Ice Cream Social in City Park.
The Ice Cream Social is a celebration of City Park and the Denver Municipal Band. The Ice Cream Social is hosted by the City Park Alliance, a nonprofit advocate for City Park. The social includes free activities like face painting, entertainers, ice cream, and a concert by the Denver Municipal Band.
This family-friendly event takes place the night before the last day of school for Denver Public Schools, so it’s a great way to kick off the summer season for neighbors, parents, and children alike. More information is available at cityparkalliance.org/icecreamsocial.
How it all started
The City Park Ice Cream Social originally started as a gathering in front of the Denver Museum with the purpose of finding a name for the new City Park splash fountain, now known as “H2O Odyssey.”
Over the years, the Ice Cream Social became a larger event, which often included people in historical dress parading through the park. After moving to its current location at the City Park Bandshell, the Denver Municipal Band came to play a much more significant role in the event, with the band concert (and the free ice cream, too) becoming the main focus. Today, the Ice Cream Social often kicks off the concert season for the Denver Municipal Band.
The Denver Municipal Band is the oldest continuously operating municipal band in the United States. The band was founded in the late 1860s by Alex Sutherland, bugler at the “Charge of The Light Brigade.”
Originally known as the GAR Post Band, it performed municipally funded concerts throughout the 1870s and 1880s. In 1891, the City of Denver started to support the band financially, and thus the name was changed to the Denver Municipal Band.
Each year, the City Park Alliance, in partnership with City Council District 9, puts on an Ice Cream Social at City Park with the Denver Municipal Band performing a free concert.
In 2015, the Municipal Band was in a state of transition. Its longtime conductor, Gerald (“Jerry”) Endsley, died on Feb. 27, 2015, after battling a rare form of leukemia.
Upon learning of the great legacy and contribution of Jerry Endsley to the Municipal Band, the board at the City Park Alliance decided to pursue naming the City Park Bandshell – a place where the municipal band has performed for more than 100 years – after Mr. Endsley.
This process has been initiated with Denver Parks and Recreation. The Greater Park Hill Community registered neighborhood organization recently voted to support this naming effort, and petitions will be circulated once the details of a new naming policy are finalized by the Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.
Lifetime of Achievements
Jerry Endsley was born in Denver, Colorado on June 2, 1945, and began playing the trumpet at age nine. He attended East High School and the New England Conservatory of music as a trumpet performance major, and earned his Master’s Degree in music from the University of Colorado in 1969. Endsley’s career with the Denver Municipal Band began in 1966, when he earned the position of Cornet Soloist. He continued in this position until 1995, when he earned the role of band conductor.
Beyond his work with the Municipal Band, Endsley also founded the Denver Brass Trio, the Denver Municipal Band Brass Quintet, and performed in the Denver Symphony Orchestra. He taught trumpet at the University of Denver from 1971 to 1976 and at Metropolitan State College from 1978 to 1979, where he conducted the Metropolitan State Community Band from 1995 until 2015.
Always an entrepreneur and music visionary, Endsley founded Tromba Publications in 1970, and he wrote several trumpet scores. He created a solo album titled Music for Trumpet, on his own Clarino Records label. Endsley also established Endsley Brass Mouthpieces, which provided custom mouthpieces. His collection of over 250 rare instruments dating back to the mid-1800s serves as a testament to his dedication to his art. He also served on the board of several Denver arts organizations, and as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of Summit Brass from 1985 to his death.
The naming rights of a municipal building is not something that is taken lightly. This honor is often bestowed upon former mayors or significant financial donors. That said, in my opinion Endsley’s exemplary service to the City of Denver and lifetime achievements should never be forgotten. Details of the process to name the bandshell in his honor will be provided in the Greater Park Hill News as it moves forward.
In the meantime, we’ll see you at the Ice Cream Social on June 1. Bring the kids, celebrate City Park with your neighbors and friends, and while you’re there, take a moment to consider the lifetime of dedication and accomplishments of a visionary from Park Hill: Gerald Endsley.
Park Hill resident Greg Davis is chairman of City Park Alliance.