This summer marks the band's 19th season performing a series of free concerts in Sunnyvale's Ortega Park, a time when Sunnyvale residents of all ages come out to dance and sing.

"Big band has something for everyone," Heath says. "A lot of bands make the mistake of just playing for themselves. We play what the audience wants to hear."

Music has always been entertainment for Heath. He has been surrounded by it since he was a baby. His father played the fiddle and the harmonica, and his mother played the piano. But neither one ever had lessons.

"I grew up on a farm in Kansas. This was a long time ago. We didn't have electricity; we didn't have running water and we didn't have gas. For entertainment, we made our own music. There were seven kids in our family, and we had a trombone, two fiddles and a piano. I played a harmonica solo in church when I was just 4 years old." He shakes his head at the memory, then grins. "We made our own music; neighbors did the same. Back then, you'd figure out how to do it yourself or you did without."

Doing without music was clearly not an option for Heath. He bought himself a guitar at age 11 for $6 and taught himself all the chords from sheet music. "This was where I built the backbone for my music," he says. Then he learned to play the harmonica and the guitar simultaneously.

Electricity was run out to the farm around 1936, and in 1938 the Heaths got their first radio. "After we got a radio in '38, I listened to the Hit Parade every single Saturday night until it went off the air in 1960."

It wasn't until Heath hit high school that he was able to refine his musical skill, and at the end of his freshman year, he could read music for voice and trumpet. "It's so important that we keep music in the schools," Heath says. "I've seen it over and over where adults say they want to get into music. But it's tough when you are an adult." He adds that many youngsters don't get exposure to music at home and can't afford lessons.

A loving awareness of music has been a constant element throughout Heath's life, and hearing certain melodies brings back vivid flashes of memory.

"I remember all those songs. Every time I hear a tune that I first heard on Hit Parade I can remember to this day exactly where I was and what I was doing when it was popular. My Devotion takes me right back to boot camp."

Heath served in the U.S. Navy from June of 1944 to August of 1946. When he got out of the military he went to work at United as an engineer. He moved with the job from Alaska to Washington and then to California. He married his wife right out of boot camp, and the couple eventually settled in the Bay Area in 1957.

Since then he's enjoyed being involved with local music organizations, yet he has definite preferences when it comes to the kind of music he'll play.

"I played with a Los Altos group. They played mostly Broadway tunes. Every once in a while the conductor would introduce a swing number. That always sent me straight to heaven. I'd ask when we were going to play another. He told me, 'You're trying to turn this into a swing band.' " Heath smiles and says, "When the Serenaders came together, I got my swing tunes."

Eldred Clark (now deceased) established the Serenaders in the city of Sunnyvale in 1983. Heath took over in 1987.

"I'm the only original member left," he says, "although there are some members who've been with us a long time. In fact, one of our youngest members, Burt Mazzocco [baritone sax], may have been with us the longest."

The band's newest member is Phil Davis, bass trombonist and longtime resident of Sunnyvale. Davis lives two blocks from the band's Braly Park rehearsal space and often walks to band practice.

"I used to commute to Redwood City to play with a different group before I realized that the Serenaders were practically in my own backyard," Davis says. He heard about the Serenaders while playing with the South Bay Symphony; several of his fellow musicians claim membership in both groups.

"I'm very proud of the city of Sunnyvale for subsidizing the Serenaders," says Davis. "They are a treasure."

Jeanne Heath, substitute piano player and no relation to Mark Heath, agrees.

"The Serenaders are wonderful," she says. "They're a prime example of how important it is to keep the music programs in our schools alive." Jeanne, a resident of Sunnyvale for 40 years, says, "Many of the members were exposed to music education while in school. They have played all their lives and are still doing it. Being involved in music isn't the same as being involved with sports. You can do sports for only so long. Music is for the long term."

Band members range in age from their 30s to their early 80s. They also represent a broad cross section of occupations. Being based in Silicon Valley, there are more than a couple of engineers. The group also numbers a few professional musicians and even a criminologist. A few members are retired, such as trombonist Ted Brown, a Cupertino resident who continues to give music lessons.

Despite their varied ages and backgrounds, the musicians all get along well. One reason for this is their unifying love of music.

Audiences for the Serenaders are as varied in age as the band itself.

"We play for different groups, so you get the different ages. In the park, we'll sometimes get an older audience, but you get a 2-year-old out there dancing—well, they have a big time," Heath says.

"We play over at the senior center in Santa Clara, and you generally get an older crowd there. But they start dancing when we start playing, and they don't stop till we do."

The Serenaders' most requested tunes for dancing include "Mack the Knife" and "In the Mood." The band has a catalogue of more than 500 tunes. Heath's car trunk fairly groans with the weight of the sheet music he carries to every gig. The books include an ever-increasing number of salsa tunes for the enjoyment of the group's growing Latin audience.

The band stays busy, playing about 60 dates a year, including the summer concert series at Sunnyvale's Ortega Park.

"In those four concerts I try to do different songs, except for the first and last ones. I like to print out the words of those so folks can sing along. Last year, I added 'God Bless America' to the play list. A fellow came up to me at the end of one performance and told me he didn't know the words, so now I print up those, too."

Most of the Serenaders' gigs are paying ones, but the Ortega Park engagement is another matter. The band has good reason to play the park gratis.

"I feel at home in Sunnyvale. The city parks and recreation department has been with us from the beginning," says Heath. "They've given us a place at Braly Park to rehearse every Wednesday night. It's heated in the winter, and we open the doors in the summer. They even bought us a piano to use. It's a good relationship," Heath says with a smile. It's a smile that belies the age of this great-grandfather. "We play the park for free, and we don't mind it one bit. We think it's a real good way to give back to the city."

The Serenaders will play at Ortega Park at 636 Harrow Way July 13, Aug. 10, and Sept. 14 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The concerts are co-sponsored by the Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Department. Admission is free.

The band will also play at the opening of the new Sunnyvale Senior Center on July 19.

Mark Heath can be reached for booking information at 650.366.3305.