Decatur Celebration – Two Performances

Friday, August 7, 2009 – evening

The Vintage Brass Band will perform two one-hour concerts on the Decatur Celebration main stage featuring brass band music from the 1840′s – 1880′s. Learn about the evolution of music spanning this influential time period that contained the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, Reconstruction and the Westward Expansion.

Enjoy rare operatic arrangements and popular tunes performed from the Benjamin Grierson collection, the earliest set of band music in the United States, circa 1840. A decade or two later, patriotism was all the rage on both sides of the Mason-Dixon following the secession of the South. The VBB will present brass music from both sides of the conflict.  Finally,  it was former Civil War musicians who brought the band tradition to the western states. Thanks to the generosity of Scott Schwartz, Director of the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, VBB Artistic Director Todd Cranson will present music of the Humboldt Brass Band of Humboldt Kansas after a century-long slumber. Formed by Richard R. Redfield in 1866, the Humboldt Band was on the frontier of musical development. The Humboldt Band’s unique arrangements, including the “Bass Ball Quickstep” exude the pride and confidence of a forward-looking nation. The band continued to charm audiences into the 1880′s.

We hope you enjoy our performances at the 2009 Decatur Celebration!