Located on the west side of the Wingfield Park Glen Little Amphitheater is a memorial plaque that reads:
IN MEMORY OF GLENN LITTLE
"RENO'S MUSIC MAN"Glenn Little devoted 55 years of his life
performing with the Reno Municipal Band.
He served as the band director and conductor for
31 years from 1978 to 2009. His music brought
joy to the people of all ages and made a lasting
contribution to Reno's quality of life.Dedicated July 4, 2013 by the Friends of Glenn Little
The Wingfield Park Amphitheater was renamed after Little in his honor. I located a nice online blog that highlights Glenn Little's life and it reads:
The effort to honor the late Glenn Little by adding his name to the Wingfield Park Amphitheater, cleared a final government hurdle on Wednesday.
It was music to the ears of his longtime friends and fans of the Reno Municipal Band, which was part of Little’s life for 55 years, including 31 as its director.
“I’m just elated,” Bob Heaney, a former Reno High classmate of Little, said after the Reno City Council voted unanimously to approve the renaming of the amphitheater to the Wingfield Park Glenn Little Amphitheater.
Little, who died in November of 2012 at age 72, joined the Reno Municipal Band at 14 in 1954. Little became a fixture at Wingfield Park for municipal band performances and a leader in the Truckee Meadows arts community.
“Glenn was one of those rare people with extraordinary musical talent who could play the banjo, trumpet and almost any musical instrument,” Heaney said. “He was also much more than just a musician with his artistic talent, good humor and enthusiastic and engaging personality. He was a goodwill ambassador.”
Longtime Reno civic leader Bill Thornton told the council members on Wednesday that Little had conducted more than 500 concerts with municipal band. It was Thornton who gave Little the nickname, “Reno’s Music Man.”
Former Reno mayors Pete Sferrazza and Jeff Griffin, and arts advocate Peter Chase Neumann wrote letters of support renaming the amphitheater.
Heaney and Ty Cobb, who was also a former classmate of Little, formed the nonprofit, “Friends of Glenn Little” to spearhead the renaming effort and to raise funds for a bronze plaque and lettering to be placed on the amphitheater along Arlington Avenue.
Heaney said the effort now turns to raising the $10,000 needed for the lettering and plaque. He is hoping to have the project completed in time for a July 4 dedication ceremony.
“That was the day he was famous for performing, the Fourth of July with the municipal band,” Heaney said.
Anyone who would like to make a donation to the Glenn Little Memorial Fund can call Heaney at 775-848-3242 for details.
