It's been nearly 25 years since the Columbia Concert Band last performed at Howard County's lakefront Fourth of July celebration, but the group will take to the stage again for Monday's patriotic celebration.

Band Director Michael Blackman said he's thrilled to be back performing at Lake Kittamaqundi. Blackman joined the group in 1986 as a clarinetist, later performing as a percussionist, saxophonist and flutist.

The band originally formed under the name Columbia Community Band in 1978 and changed its name to the Columbia Concert Band in 1983.

“I joined as a 12th-grader and always thought of it as my second family,” Blackman said. “I've been directing since 2000. It's basically an amateur community band for folks who want to have music in their lives.”

Band members play a wide range of musical instruments, including piccolos, flutes, oboes, bassoons, clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, French horns, trombones, tubas and percussion.

Blackman said 45 musicians, about half of the band's membership, will perform on July 4 due to limited space at the lakefront stage. The band is scheduled to perform from 7 to 9:30 p.m., with a selection that includes patriotic, pop and original symphonic band music.

“For the most part, it will be recognizable marches for folks to listen to while they're out on the lakefront,” the director said.

Blackman said the band rehearses for two hours every Monday at River Hill High School, where he's also been teaching instrumental music for seven years.

Columbia resident Larry Schultz, a 33-year band member who plays trumpet, said the group has come a long way since its early days rehearsing at the Other Barn in the Oakland Mills Village Center.

“Like a lot of the adults, we all had played in high school and college, and then, we took a break once we got into the working world,” the 77-year-old musician said. “When [the band] started, we had one piece of music and worked on that for several weeks before we could come up with a way to get more music.”

Although space was tight during previous Fourth of July lakefront performances in the 1980s, Schultz said he “remembers the fun parts” about bringing the community together through music.

“I think it's the perfect match to have a community band perform for a national holiday in its community,” he said. “It's a good fit for us to be supporting the community. It's great fun and I think everybody in the band enjoys being a part of the music and the large concert band.”

Kim Drake, the organization's president, said their concerts are always free, including its formal concerts in May and December, a children's concert in September and outdoor concerts throughout the summer. Musicians pay an annual fee to keep the nonprofit band alive, she said.

For years, Blackman encouraged the band to pull together and reenter the community's Fourth of July celebration, Drake said.“We're very happy they're having us,” said Drake, who has played trumpet in the band for 16 years. “I grew up in New England and the town band played at every sort of holiday celebration. It feels good to have the town band being a part of that. Everybody has live music at their Fourth of July celebrations. We're all really excited.”

In preparation for the coming performance, Blackman said the Columbia Concert Band has dedicated the last 30 minutes of each rehearsal to Fourth of July music, with plans to end their performance with a bang.

“They believed that it was important enough to do whatever we had to do to perform on July 4,” Blackman said. “They've worked very, very hard and I'm really proud of everybody. Our mission is to give back to the community in an artistic musical way. That's very meaningful for us.”

For information on the Columbia Concert Band performances, go to columbiabands.org or Facebook page facebook.com/columbiabands. Additional information on Howard County Fourth of July festival and fireworks at Lake Kittamaqundi, go to howardcountymd.gov.