1st Brigade Band News and Notes page

2010 Events
Fond du Lac, WI - Fond du Lac Symphonic Band Summer Program Buttermilk Festival
Northfield, MN - A Grand Festival & Academic Symposium of Vintage Wind Band Music
Watertown, WI - Octagon House Ice Cream Social
Eagle, WI - Old World Wisconsin 1860's County Fair
Racine, WI - 23rd Annual Harvest Ball
Watertown, WI - Turner Hall Sesquicentennial

2011 Events
Watertown, WI - HMMF Annual Awards Banquet
Watertown, WI - HMMF Annual Meeting
Wausau, WI - Wausau Performing Arts Foundation - Lively Arts Series
Elkhart Lake, WI - Joint Concert with the Elkhart Lake - Glenbeulah Middle School Band
Valparaiso, IN - Concert Association of Valparaiso
Cambridge, WI - Cambridge Heritage Day - Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Start of the Civil War"
Evansville, WI - "Rally 'Round the Flag", a Civil War Homefront Gathering

Heritage Military Music Foundation is awarded Wisconsin Historical Society's
Rueben Gold Thwaites Trophy for Local History in 2009

The Reuben Gold Thwaites Trophy is presented annually to one affiliated historical society for continued excellence for its overall service to its community over a period of at least five years. A society selected to receive the Reuben Gold Thwaites Trophy must demonstrate the excellence of its achievements in both collecting and preserving history and sharing history with the public. The impact of a society's overall services on its own community is a major component used in evaluating nominations for the Reuben Gold Thwaites Trophy.

In Memoriam - HMMF and 1st Brigade Band founder Fred Benkovic (January 31, 1924 - June 7, 2009)

Heritage Military Music Foundation Announces Assistant Bandmaster Appointment Press Release

Jon Condon assumes bandmaster position, and other management changes: Press Release

A Memorial in Art - main street mural in Watertown featuring the 1st Brigade Band

Heritage Military Music Foundation owns or has on loan over 200 antique instruments, and a semi-permanent display has been set up with about 40% of the collection in the Kwapil Memorial Library in Heritage Hall. The instruments are mainly grouped by family or configuration on the walls and tables of the library. Some unusual and historical non-period instruments are also featured. The library houses band archives, photos, and other media. The Kwapil Civil War book collection is on permanent display as well. The room is open by appointment, and has benefited from the recent bequest from the Peterson Foundation by receiving full fire and theft protection.

This summer being a bit more hot and wet than usual, this was another performance moved inside. At the fairgrounds, the band performed for a huge crowd - the Fond du Lac summer performance program is well supported and attended. Music from the original 1st Brigade Band was featured, with various vocal solos and sequences. It has been a few years since we played in Fond du Lac, but the folks there were most welcoming. It was great to be back.

This is the second trip to Northfield for the band. This year there were 25 groups and 100 performances. The band members and the audiences certainly were kept hopping to the various venues in town. Hot weather, but the rain pretty much stayed overnight, so everybody got to play. Evenings you could visit the various night spots and see groups as well. A very full and well organized weekend. We had three principle performances, which left our grateful members some time to see other groups during the weekend. Opening on Saturday we "battled" with Newberry's Victorian Cornet Band across the banks of the Cannon River. We met afterwards on the bridge for some photos and to compare our respective Schreiber horns. In the afternoon, we presented an historic program at Bridge Square consisting of the tale of Laura Keene, who never sang "Honor to Our Soldiers" to President Lincoln the night he was assasinated. On Sunday, we played at the Veteran's Park and featured our Flag sequence and a salute to veterans. A most satisfying weekend with great crowds and a lot of great bands in a great small town!

Our yearly ice cream social at the lovely Octagon House went very well this year - nice weather (lot's of ice cream and cake!) and a big crowd to play for. We featured the 1859 sequence; a pivotal year leading up to the start of the Civil War. Our soloists had ample oportunity to perform as well, and we showed off an instrument that we had purchased for the band at our previous performance site - Northfield, Minnesota - at the Vintage Band Festival. Not often do we get to do this for the hometown crowd, and not often do we get an instrument that needs minimal work to be playable so soon. We are sure to be back next year for the start of the Civil War Sesquicentennial.

We last did a county fair event at Old World Wisconsin two years ago. They were celebrating 19th century agricultural and mechanical arts with many produce, craft and machinery displays. Also in evidence were the heirloom breeds of animals and stock. It wouldn't have been complete without a shell game, children's games, a declamation contest and of course a band contest. We split the band and competed as the local Palmyra town band and the visiting Brodhead Brass Band. Both bands played for the opening ceremonies and political speeches, and then entertained the crowds both in the historic village and out on the historic farmsteads and cemetery. The Palmyra band took home the premium this time with a very close vote. A great event, with lots to do and see at one of the premier historic sites in the country.

We had a great Harvest Ball, as usual, and had the good fortune to have a larger crowd than usual, despite some changes this year to the ticketing process. Also, it happened that the date of this year's Ball fell on election day, 1860, which added to the historical flavor of the evening. We kept the crowd up to date on the latest election returns, and when the results were announced, our resident Abraham Lincoln gave a wonderful victory speech to the attending dancers. As usual, our hearty participants held on to the end, and filled the dance floor all evening. Reels, polkas, schottisches, circle waltzes and a broom dance were done throughout the evening with much enthusiasm and energy. We will certainly see everyone next year, and hope that the new participants will come back as well! Well done, everybody!

An important private performance ended the performing year. Down the street from Heritage Hall is Turner Hall, which was this year celebtating their sesquicentennial. The Turners spring from a 19th century German heritage athletic and social organization, and many towns and cities in Wisconsin have a Turner Hall; Watertown being one of them. With a small ensemble, we entertained the Saturday night crowd with appropriate 150 year old music and stories. And, as we usually have our band banquet there, we knew that the food would be good, too! A number of the band members also won door prizes as well, though very few in the audience went home empty handed - it was a grand celebration of history and fellowship with all of the current Turners and their families.

Though we have played several times at the lovely Grand Theater in Wausau, tonight's performance was somewhat special. The entire evening was a dedication to the late John Michler, a Wausau attorney and community supporter, as well as a friend of the 1st Brigade Band. He was a generous benefactor to many causes, including the preservation of the Grand. Through his efforts, the 1st Brigade Band has received many contributions from Wausau foundations; largely for instrument purchase and conservation. The evening was also a final event in the two year series of activities overseen by the Wisconsin Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission in honor of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. As such, much of the program revolved around President and Mary Lincoln - portrayed by members Max and Donna Daniels. Also included was a patriotic set, some solo work by Eb cornettist Steve Kessler, and vocals. A special solo was performed on one of our most prized instruments - an OTS Eb bass horn once played in the Wausau city band - an instrument that was almost discarded as being too damaged to salvage. Steve Tweed did the honors with "The Air From the Magic Flute". Miss Kate gave us her Irish sequence, honoring the Irish men who left Milwaukee to serve in the Civil War, and we ended with a set of vocal solos. As always, it was a great pleasure to perform for the folks in Wausau, and we hope to be back soon.

The next morning saw the band participating in a worship service at First Presbyterian Church of Wausau. We were again joined by Max Daniels as President Lincoln in the performing of the service in 1960's style. As always, the band does not perform, but participates in the service, as they might have in the 19th century. A lovely place to play.

We did a nice, educational, small ensemble performance in Elkhart Lake in conjunction with the Elkhart Lake - Glenbeulah Middle School band. The school band performed a Civil War themed concert of modern arrangements, and ended with arrangements adapted from some of our period music. Then we performed a short, narrated concert of music of the soldier's and bandsman's life, as well as a set of music for President Lincoln. We also played the arrangements that the Middle School band played, to contrast the difference between the instruments and instrumentation of the two bands. It is always nice to have an opportunity to showcase the educational aspects of the history of the concert band.

This is the first time the band has played in Valparaiso - even though we have had an instrument on loan from their historical society these 10 years or so. We finally were able to bring the instrument home to play for them. We received the instrument in poor condition back then, and fortunately, after extensive work, it turned out to be a great player. It is a rare, four valve Graves upright tuba - probably from the late 1950's. Our Steve Tweed performed a solo on it for the home crowd, and it was shown off extensively at the program. We also gave our program of soldier life at the training camps as the Civil War began 150 years ago, with liberal tie-ins to the Indiana and Wisconsin soldiers who participated - both the triumphs and hardships. As usual, we featured soloists and some tomfoolery, too. A great crowd in a wonderful auditorium, so we can't wait to go back again.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate for Cambridge's Heritage Day Celebration, but that didn't dampen the festivities. They had some outdoor exhibits, and moved the rest indoors - where we held our Historical Program. With an indoor parade to start it off, we performed a sequence on the life of the soldiers and musicians in the training camps at the start of the war, and did a few vocal and instrumental solos to round it all out. The crowd's enthusiasm was not dampened by the weather and the concert and event was a rousing success.

Evansville's Civil War weekend emphasized the early war era, with political rallys, enlistments, living history demonstrations, parade and a civilian fancy dress ball. The parade went from the encampment to the town library, where the mayor of Evansville, various dignitaries, Stephen Douglas and President Lincoln spoke. The band played as a town band, and added patriotic airs to the occasion. Near by, there was a memorial to long-time band supporter, Thelma Bennett, who also was a resident and civic supporter in Evansville. Despite some rain showers, the crowd enjoyed the festivities, and stayed to the end. In the evening, the band changed to its military uniforms for a fancy dress ball. A good crowd learned reels and schottisches as well as 'Goober Peas'. Well, some of the original 1st Brigade Band members were from Evansville, and as we have played there before, a lot of these folk knew the words already. We gave them a few solos, and a lot of dance music - it was a grand affair. A fitting commemoration to the start of the Civil War sesquicentennial.

Watertown, Wisconsin is known for the historical murals that it decorates the walls of downtown buildings in. They commemorate business, agriculture, old advertising, and now one features the 1st Brigade Band. Painted on the side of the Century 21 Building at 4th and Main Streets, it features the band playing in marching formation. The slide show below shows the artist in action, Gail Towers MacAskill - pictures are shown as the work progresses. It was finished at the end of July, and we played for the dedication in October. Watertown will soon publish a book on its murals and the histories that inspired them - we'll keep you up to date. And we are certainly proud to be so honored in our adopted home town.

(For you purists out there who realize that you don't hold an over-the-shoulder horn or period drum that way, the mural is done in reverse, like an old photo or tintype, to show off the instruments better from the vantage point just off of Main Street in Watertown, where it is located)

Well, the band has often supplied music for documentaries and other film projects, but this is the first time it has been the focus of one. A documentary about the 1st Brigade Band and its performance of original period music on original instruments is now finished. Dan Senn, a Watertown native - now of Washington; an instrumental artist, designer of experimental musical instruments, freelance film maker and owner of Newsense Intermedium, has filmed and has produced the documentary. His focus is the performance of historical music on the instruments that originally made it.

He followed the band for much of the early summer of 2001 at performances, rehearsals, and social events to gain material. Interviews with many band members and friends of the band are featured. As a bonus, his son, Nick joined us as a Bb cornet player for several performances, and is now a band member. Titled "The Exquisite Risk of Civil War Brass", it delves into the use of antiques, music and costume to re-create music and sounds of a lost era, and also how the instruments and history influence and change the people involved. The documentary covers everything from period dress, horn and performance issues, manuscript music, and the life and times of the people who originated this music, as well as the actual collecting and preserving of music and horns. It aired on several Public Television stations throughout the US.

Dan recently entered the film in the da Vinci Film Festival, and it won the da Vinci Spirit Award - the film that most exemplifies da Vinci's philosophy on the relationship of art, science and technology. Congratulations Dan!! See the letter of congratulations HERE.

In 1998, the band was privileged to participate in Stephen Low's 3-D IMAX movie, "Mark Twain's America". We re-created a period ball, with the help of many of our regular Harvest Ball participants, and re-enactor friends at the Wisconsin Club Ballroom in Milwaukee. Rather than a biography of Twain's life, the film showcases many of the ways we today celebrate Twain's life and times with modern celebrations, and re-creations of historical events and activities. Enjoy some screen shots of the band and dancers from the DVD.

1^st Brigade Band News and Notes

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