AUBURN — Milt Simon never wanted to lead one of those bands that smiles, tries and fails.

“Music can only be performed one way,” the founder and director of the Auburn Community Concert Band said. “You can’t make mistakes.”

Bad notes are bad notes, he figured. And audiences don’t want to hear them.

Three decades after he first gathered the local amateurs for a rehearsal, Simon continues to be tough.

“Milt runs it like a Marine Corps drill sergeant,” Duncan Webster, a brass player with the band for more than a decade, said. “But maybe that’s why the band has stayed together so long.”

Milt’s way works, Webster said.

And he has lots of proof.

The band Simon created in 1982 in hopes of putting children’s musical instruments to use by their parents is still drawing audiences after all these years.

On Wednesday nights at Auburn’s Festival Plaza, crowds of 300 or more people are routine. The players typically number 55 or more, creating a fat sound that has little problem filling the outdoor venue.

For this year — it’s 30th anniversary — the band has even altered its name to give it a touch of class. 

Now, it has “concert” in its title.

“When our band rehearses, it’s more with the intention of putting on a high quality performance,” Simon said. “I didn’t put this together strictly for the entertainment of the musicians. I wanted to attract large audiences. The point of this program was always to put on concerts.

“It definitely is business, which over the years has driven some people away because it was too much work.”

To Webster, a self-described “band geek,” the ethic sets this band apart from some of the other groups he has played with.

“Milt has built it and built it and built it,” said Webster, who lives in Auburn. “He has poured his heart and soul into the bands.”

Other bands might drive audiences away with a lack of polish. Others might lack new generations of players.

Milt has worked to ensure neither has weakened the band.

Members range in age from late teens to their 80s. And some members have been with the band for more than 20 years. The longest-tenure player — clarinetist Louise Theberge — began in the band’s second year.

Trumpeter Marcel Morin, who has 24 years of experience with the band, also credits Milt and his example as giving the band its hard-working edge.

“It’s fun, but you’ve still got to be there,” Morin said.

Simon sets a tough calender. It begins every January.

“I hold my breath that enough people will still be interested because it’s quite a commitment on their part,” Simon said. “It’s every Wednesday. Fifty weeks out of the year. If we’re not performing, we’re rehearsing.”

Band members describe a strict attendance taker. The rehearsals themselves are business, times to work through the mistakes so they don’t happen during a concert. And the work doesn’t end there.

“When people join the band, they have homework,” Simon said. “They are expected to go home and learn their music and practice their music. What we are doing from January to May is learning over 100 different songs.”

They spend the summer giving weekly concerts. In the fall, they work on Christmas music for their holiday shows.

It starts over again every January.

“We take it seriously, Simon said. “I think that’s why we see 300 or 400 people a week. I’m pretty proud that we’re getting that many people every week. It’s certainly a grade above what someone might expect from a community band.”

It all pays off with a strong concert and a loyal audience.

Morin saw it last week when torrential rains halted a show moments before it was about to begin. At least 150 people made it to the nearby Hilton Garden Inn before the weather forced Simon to scrub that night’s concert entirely.

“They’ll be back next week,” Morin said confidently.

For Simon, a trumpeter, the one regret he has is that he has stopped playing his horn.

Time, particularly his work as a Durham firefighter and EMT, caused him to give it up. And he never wanted to be one of those conductors who threw himself solos.

“I always felt that was showboating,” he said.

What would draw him back to playing again?

“If I found another band like the Auburn Community Concert Band, I’d probably join,” Simon said.

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