Klarinet Archive - Posting 001336.txt from 2000/04

From: George Kidder <gkidder@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Community Bands...
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 10:00:15 -0400

Very interesting. Thanks. But where does the "non-military" come in?

At 07:42 PM 4/24/00 -0400, you wrote:
>In a message dated 00-04-24 09:56:52 EDT, you write:
>
><< >..... the Williamsport
> >Repasz band which is the oldest non-military band in continuous
>existance....
> >
>
> How old is that? (I presume you mean "in the US", as I"d bet some of the
> European bands are ancient, by our standards.) The Bar Harbor Town Band
> had been INCORPORATED for 100 years as of summer before last, but no one
> seems to know how long it had been around before that. It has played every
> year except during WWII. >>
>
>
>Recently I attended our annual Repasz band banquet where we listened to a
>speech on the history of the band...I can give you the following info out of
>my membership packet.
>
>>>From an article in the Williamsport Sun Gazette:
>"Today, the Repasz Band is one of the oldest non-military bands in
continuous
>existance in the United States. First known as the Williamsport Band, the
>band got its start in August 1831 with J.L. Mussina. It's instrumentation
>consisted of flutes, clarinets, a piccolo, and only one brass instrument-- a
>French horn.
> In 1840, Daniel Repasz became a member of the band. Recognized for
his
>dynamic musical character, he became a major force behind the band's
>transformation into a fine brass band. Their reputation grew and they were
>given the honor of accompanying the Pennsylvania delegation to the 1841
>Presidential Convention in Baltimore which nominated Henry Clay for
President
>of the United States.
> In 1856, Repasz was elected as the band's fourth director, and, in
>gratitude for his dedication and accomplishments, the band members adopted
>the name Repasz Band in 1859.
> The band provided significant services in its early history
>volunteering as a military band. Their most noteworthy occasions are well
>documented: as the Eighth Pennsylvania Calvary band performing at Appomattox
>during General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant, alternating
>playing patriotic tunes with a Southern band; at the dedication of President
>Grant's Tomb in New York City in 1897; as the Band of the 12th Regiment of
>the National Guard of Pennsylvania in the inaugural parades of Presidents
>Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft, and during World War I as a Navy Band
>tourying the country for recruiting drives and Libert loan campaigns.
> Today, the Repasz Band performs an average of 15 concerts a year.
> Williamsport's own Repasz Band has been invited to participate in the
>Grant's Tomb Centennial Celebration to be held April 27th in New York City.
> The band will perform during the dedication ceremony honoring the
100th
>anniversary of the Grant National Memorial, orginally dedicated April 27,
>1897.
> The Repasz Band's early history records two occasions where it
>performed in ceremonies for President Ulysses S. Grant.
> According to Norman C. Smith, author of "March Music Notes," the band
>performed as a military unit during the Civil War at the Appomattox Court
>House in Virginia where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his
>army to then Union General Grant; and at the original dedication of
President
>Grant's Tomb in 1897."
>
>As a side note, The Repasz band march, The Repasz Band March is listed in
the
>top 100 most recognized bands in the United States.
>
>Hope this helps to clear it up!!
>
>~Sheila
>
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George Kidder
Bar Harbor, ME

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