Los Angeles Police Band

The LAPD Concert Band (also known as "L.A.'s OWN") was formed in 1914 as the official band of the Los Angeles Police Department and the City of Los Angeles. Originally made up entirely of sworn officers, it played regularly for police recruit graduations, and a wide number of police and civic functions. After WWII, soon-to-become LAPD officer, Gene Roddenberry, had worked as a commercial pilot. Roddenberry, who is best remembered for creating the original Star Trek television series, had been raised in Los Angeles, where his father had been an LAPD officer. Since a boy, he had also known William H. Parker, who would become Chief of Police. Roddenberry decided his own future should be as a television writer and that the ideal training ground for that career would be the Los Angeles Police Department. The future creator of Star Trek had been particularly impressed with Parker’s openness to new ideas as well as his intellectual curiosity. Years later, these characteristics were to inspire one of his most famous characters, Spock, the half Vulcan, half human, ultra-rational Science Officer of the fictional Starship Enterprise. William Parker died just days before Star Trek premiered, on Sept. 8, 1966. The Watts Riots a year earlier had made him something of a household name. And yet no one — perhaps not even Leonard Nimoy, the actor chosen to portray Spock — knew that the character's dual nature was Gene Roddenberry’s tribute to the late chief. Howard Jarvis, a pugnacious businessman was the principal architect of the infamous Proposition 13, formally called the People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation. Jarvis a pillar of bombast became the public face of the referendum — a "prophet of fiscal rectitude" to his admirers. He was unfazed by severe spending reductions that the proposition forced upon many communities and institutions. “The most important thing in this country is not the school system, nor the police department, nor the fire department,” he said. “The right to preserve, the right to have property in this country, the right to have a home in this country — that’s important.” He drew inspiration from another Howard: Beale, the mad newscaster in the 1976 film “Network.” The fictional Beale was immortalized by his signature line: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” In 1978, driven by the small of stature, yet bigger-than-life Jarvis, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 13, which lowered property taxes for millions of the state’s homeowners. However, its passage reduced tax funding to the LAPD, which meant that active police officers were required to dedicate their duty hours exclusively to enforcement, not as musicians. As a result, the band was dissolved. Shortly after the band dissolved, a group of civic leaders headed by theater owner, Bob Ahmanson, and Gene Roddenberry, formed an all-volunteer band under the direction of John Campbell. Throughout the 1980s the band expanded into the 75-member ensemble it is today. Many of its members are well-known professional artists who play in local symphonies, big bands, and as studio musicians. We also feature a cadre of experienced amateur musicians, many of whom are retired from professions in the law, medicine, and education. Now under the direction of Maestro Richard Allen, the band is poised to reach out to the communities within the City of Los Angeles and beyond on behalf of the LAPD, having been designated "LA's OWN."