After another few decades, according to a Vineyard Gazette interview with A.C. Tuckerman, an early member of the band, John Wesley Payne, a member of the famous Gilmor Band, was hired to "turn of dinky country band into a real musical organization". We hope you agree that we are still validating description. After all, we have an obligation to our listeners to match Art Buchwald's description of us (in a column informing the Clintons of the available free quality entertainment), that "(the Islanders) are very proud of their town band, which is as good as the National Symphony if they don't have to play in the rain".

Currently, the band is made up of amateurs (music lovers, in the best sense) and professionals, quite a few of them school band directors. We have students from seventh grade through graduate school, music teachers, active as well as retired, a NASA scientist, local farmers, laborers, hoteliers.

While the Vineyard Haven Band, Inc. is a non-profit organization, it does have expenses for rental of rehearsal facilities and storage, in addition to increased insurance. We are also having to purchase replacements for our folding stands and wooden chairs. We are grateful to several bandmasters for the loan of newer music. We would like to buy some more instruments for use by summer visitors, including some of the specialized percussion instruments of Brazil, and would accept donations of no-longer used instruments. Your contributions are tax deductible.