The Freeport Concert Band Presents The 1st Brigade Band
Date and Time
Sunday Jun 9, 2019
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM CDT
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Location
Koenig Band Shell in Krape Park
Fees/Admission
Free
Description
The Freeport Concert Band is proud to welcome the civil war period group, the 1st Brigade Band of Broadhead, WI, to Freeport on Sunday, June 9, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at the Koenig Bandshell in Krape Park. In 1864, eighteen men from the Brodhead Brass Band enlisted in the Union Army as the band of the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 15th Army Corps. They left their rural Wisconsin homes to participate, under the command of General William T. Sherman, in the campaigns of Northern Georgia and the Carolina’s. The “Tradition of Excellence” that these men established more than 130 years ago lives on today with the members of the 1st Brigade Band. The band MAKES HISTORY LIVE by presenting Civil War period brass band music, performed on antique instruments. Attired in uniforms and gowns, the Band’s musicians, color guard, and costumed ladies take you back to the 1860’s; to that turbulent era known as the Civil War. A nostalgic portrayal of the atmosphere of days gone by is generated by a unique form of showmanship that blends the sights and sounds of the period with historical anecdotes. More than eighty volunteers, men and women, make up the 1st Brigade Band. Widely varied in age and occupation, they come from many communities, bringing with them a common interest in their musical heritage. During a typical year, they will meet their audience more than forty times, in concerts, parades, military balls, and worship services, presenting their educational and entertaining programs. While the abundant written and pictorial materials remain, the mellow sounds of the brass bands of the 1860’s were lost until the 1st Brigade Band, starting in 1964, began to locate and restore the dented and broken instruments and to retrieve and reconstruct the yellowed and torn music. Through their work you can now hear what Presidents Lincoln and Davis, Generals Lee and Grant, and their contemporaries heard. The Freeport Concert Band celebrates its 100th year of music making in 2019. The Freeport Concert Band presents the 1st Brigade Band as a kick off to their regular summer concert series. The Freeport Concert Band is comprised of local musicians who play six concerts each summer at the Koenig Band Shell at Krape Park. The band’s regular season begins on Sunday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Koenig Band Shell, with concerts each Sunday night ending on July 21, 2019. More information about the season will follow, and we hope you’ll join us to celebrate 100 years of music making and another great season of Music Under the Stars!