The Allentown Band has a long and storied past, dating back 190 years, to what is said to be its first performance, July 4, 1828.

For the last 41 years, one man has been the face of the Allentown Band: Ronald Demkee.

The band’s conductor started his association with the United States’ oldest civilian concert band as a tubist in 1964 while attending West Chester University. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Allentown Band is gearing up for its outdoor summer concert series in West Park, Allentown, and at other bandshells and parks in the Lehigh Valley with several concerts in April, including: “Celebrating Immigration To Allentown,” 3 p.m. April 22, Zion’s Reformed UCC “Liberty Bell” Church, 620 Hamilton St., Allentown; Annual “Massed Bands” Concert: Allentown Band, Marine Band of Allentown, Pioneer Band, Allentown Municipal Band, 2:30 p.m. April 29, Auditorium, Northampton Area High School, 1619 Laubach Avenue, Northampton, and “Side By Side” Concert, with 50 area high school musicians sitting in with the Allentown Band, 7:30 p.m. May 6, Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown.

Demkee, 74, began his music career in seventh grade as a trumpet player in the Whitehall-Coplay School District.

“The conductor needed low brass, so I switched to tuba. By ninth grade, I was in district band. There, I could hear how good a band could be.”

That inspiration led to first a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s degree in music from West Chester University.

About his beginnings with the Allentown Band, Demkee recalls, “I played in a number of the Allentown bands and was in the Allentown Marine Band. I got a letter from Bert Myers while a junior at college and begin playing tuba with the Allentown Band on a regular basis.”

Demkee graduated from West Chester in 1965 and began teaching at Palisades High School. In 1967, Bethlehem Area School District opened East Hills Middle School and Freedom High School. Demkee became band director and instrumental music teacher at Freedom and remained there for 30 years, retiring in 1997. He also taught at Moravian College and Muhlenberg College until retiring in 2015.

The Allentown Band is known throughout the world. Demkeee says: “The band has been heard in all 50 states and 24 foreign countries.”

He notes that Allentown Band recordings have been played on an Australian radio program, “Let The Bands Play,” that features, according to its website, “music of military bands, brass bands and concert bands from worldwide sources, together with biographical comments regarding composers, conductors, bands and interesting historical events relating to much of the music.”

The nationwide “Community Radio” program often features the Allentown Band. The band is heard frequently on WRTI’s “Sousalarm” at 7:15 a.m. weekdays.

The Allentown Band has only had four conductors in its last 100 years: Martin Klinger, 1886 - 1926; Albertus Meyers, 1927 - 1976; Ron Sherry, 1977, and Demkee, 1977 to the present.

Asked if he plans to go for Meyers’ record 49-year tenure, Demkee, now in his 41st year, replies, “I’m hoping if my health holds up I’ll continue to do it. We’ll see.”

The Allentown Band has played numerous famous venues: Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, West Point, and literally hundreds of local performances. Under Demkee’s direction, the band has taken three trips to Europe for concerts in Switzerland and Austria. The list of guest soloists and conductors is long and impressive.

When asked which of the many Allentown Band highlights stands out for him, Demkee says, “Well, it’s hard to pick. I’d be remiss in not mentioning Carnegie Hall. We were the host band for the New York City International Instrumental Music Festival. Many college and high school bands, as well as community bands, were in attendance. And then there are the trips to Europe, as well.”

Demkee is responsible for another big part of the Allentown Band’s legacy. In 1986, he started the “Our Band Heritage” series of recordings, which had stretched to 30 recordings. Says Demkee, “We just finished number 31, a tribute to John Williams. It seemed appropriate since last year was his 85th birthday and also the 40th anniversary of the original ‘Star Wars’ [for which Williams composed the score).”

Two programs Demkee is proud of are the “Side By Side” concerts and the Youth Concerts. For the last 10 years, the Allentown Band has paired area high school musicians for a yearly “Side By Side” concert.

The concerts typically feature the band for half the program. For the second half, the band is joined by 50 high school students from schools as close by as Parkland and Liberty and as far as Bensalem in the south and Williams Valley to the north, with a great many in between, including parochial and charter schools. There’s also a guest conductor and usually a guest soloist. The students rehearse with the band and perform with them as well, quite an experience for a high schooler.

The Youth Concerts have been going on since 1995. They are held during the school day and include some 1,000 students per concert in grades four through eight from many neighboring schools. The concerts, one in fall and one in spring, feature music plus one other media. In 2017, the concerts featured Holst’s “The Planets,” plus an accompanying film by Jose Salgada.

“People tend to overlook the impact of our education outreach. We’ve been doing the Youth Concerts since 1995. We invite regional schools and designed the concerts specifically for that age. We introduce the instruments and do multimedia things. Teachers get lesson plans to go with the performances.”

When he’s not rehearsing or conducting the Allentown Band, Demkee serves as Associate Conductor for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, a post he’s held since 1983. He conducts the Allentown Symphony “Pops” concerts. He also plays principal tuba with the Allentown Symphony.

Demkee says the Allentown Band remains strong “because we pay attention to quality of performance We admit young people who are good players with a good attitude.”

One thing is for sure: the Allentown Band is in good hands with Demkee in charge.