file · Web viewTo: The Media and other interested parties. From: Bob Moody, director of The...

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To: The Media and other interested parties. From: Bob Moody, director of The Stonewall Brigade Band Re: Stonewall Brigade Band Concert programs for Summer 2003 Included in this fax or document are 25 pages not including the cover page (if any), including the concert programs for the 2004 Summer Season in Gypsy Hill Park, which starts Monday, June 7. This will be the 116th annual series of concerts in Gypsy Hill Park. The series started on Arbor Day 1889 when the first trees were planted, and has continued unbroken ever since. The band dates from 1855. The band’s web page is http://www.stonewallbrigadeband.com . The concert listings on that web page have not been updated as of the time of this fax. Also notable is the July 5 joint concert with the 29th Infantry Division National Guard band of Roanoke. Sgt. Fred Lewis and director Bob Moody exchanged library lists by email and agreed upon the program, based upon music owned by both bands. Each band rehearsed independently, and will play this music together for the first time on the concert, with the two directors sharing conducting. The bandstand in the park is now officially the “Stonewall Brigade Bandstand.” Please list the concerts as such... Stonewall Brigade Band Concert Stonewall Brigade Bandstand Gypsy Hill Park Each concert follows a set format–march, overture, march, Broadway, etc.– in keeping with the concert style developed by John Philip Sousa for his first Southern concert tour in the 1890’s. Each year about 25% of the music is “new” to the band that year, another 20% is music that was played in the past but not the previous year, and the remaining music was included on last year’s series. There are approximately 150 different selections of music that the band has prepared during the winter rehearsal season from January through May. The band then plays the entire Summer season without rehearsals between concerts. For example, the June 28 concert was rehearsed on page1 of 34

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Page 1: file · Web viewTo: The Media and other interested parties. From: Bob Moody, director of The Stonewall Brigade Band. Re: Stonewall Brigade …

To: The Media and other interested parties.From: Bob Moody, director of The Stonewall Brigade BandRe: Stonewall Brigade Band Concert programs for Summer 2003

Included in this fax or document are 25 pages not including the cover page (if any), including the concert programs for the 2004 Summer Season in Gypsy Hill Park, which starts Monday, June 7.

This will be the 116th annual series of concerts in Gypsy Hill Park. The series started on Arbor Day 1889 when the first trees were planted, and has continued unbroken ever since. The band dates from 1855. The band’s web page is http://www.stonewallbrigadeband.com . The concert listings on that web page have not been updated as of the time of this fax.

Also notable is the July 5 joint concert with the 29th Infantry Division National Guard band of Roanoke. Sgt. Fred Lewis and director Bob Moody exchanged library lists by email and agreed upon the program, based upon music owned by both bands. Each band rehearsed independently, and will play this music together for the first time on the concert, with the two directors sharing conducting.

The bandstand in the park is now officially the “Stonewall Brigade Bandstand.” Please list the concerts as such...

Stonewall Brigade Band ConcertStonewall Brigade Bandstand

Gypsy Hill Park

Each concert follows a set format–march, overture, march, Broadway, etc.– in keeping with the concert style developed by John Philip Sousa for his first Southern concert tour in the 1890’s. Each year about 25% of the music is “new” to the band that year, another 20% is music that was played in the past but not the previous year, and the remaining music was included on last year’s series. There are approximately 150 different selections of music that the band has prepared during the winter rehearsal season from January through May. The band then plays the entire Summer season without rehearsals between concerts. For example, the June 28 concert was rehearsed on March 8 and the August 23 concert was rehearsed on May 24. All members are volunteers.

Robert N. Moody continues in his 30th year as director of the band and his 46th year as a member. Only one member, Dr. J. R. Hanson has been a member for longer. Bob Hanson is in his 50th year as a member. Assistant directors include Ryan Dempsey, band director at Rockbridge High School; Ray Hoaster, retired arranger from the Air Force Band and director of the Staunton Ovation Singers; Kathleen Haley, band director at Guardian Angel Academy, and Doug Lane, band director at R. E. Lee High School, Staunton.

There is a short historical sketch at the end of this fax for background information on any article you wish to write. This entire article would be appropriate for a Saturday historical page, or as installments on that page. In addition, the band will play at the Bridgewater Town Park on Sunday evening, July 13, at 7 pm.

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Notable is the presence of a piece by a Virginia arranger or composer on each concert.

Here is information on those pieces:

Greg Moody of Staunton Virginia has three selections included in the concert series. Included are an arrangement of “Almendra” a Cuban piece from the turn of the 20th century by Abelardo Valdés. Notable in the fact that no other band has it iis his arrangement of Jacob Rinehart’s “Jefferson Davis Funeral March” which was written for the Stonewall Brigade Band to play at the reinterment of Davis’ remains in Richmond. The band parts were lost many years ago, and Greg did the arrangement in late nineteenth century style from t he existing organ version of the piece. Several of the concerts will open with Greg’s arrangement “President Grant Medley” which commemorates Grant’s visit to Staunton by train, where the band serenaded the President from the portico of the American Hotel with “My Country Tis of Thee” and, some sources mention, “Dixie.” The version of “My Country Tis of Thee” comes from a public school songbook from the early twentieth century and the version of “Dixie” from the piano piece “The Battle of Manassas” acquired by the band from the Manassas Museum, and written by “Blind Tom”, a vaudeville musician of the mid-nineteenth century.

Al Winters of Staunton has one selections on the concert Al has arranged Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk” for the band, and it will be featured on “Kids Concert in the Park” on June 28.

Gary Fagan of Albemarle County is represented by two selections on the series.... “Augusta Variations” on July 29 and “Shenandoah Mountain” on July 8. Mr. Fagan is band director at Henley Middle School in Crozet. When he was a student at Bridgewater College about 25 years ago, Mr. Fagan did his student teaching under Bob Moody when Mr. Moody was band director at Buffalo Gap. One of Mr. Fagan’s former band members, Jenny Reynolds, plays in the Brigade Band clarinet section and has studied clarinet with Greg Moody.

Ray Hoaster, principal trumpet with the Stonewall Brigade Band and director of Staunton’s “Ovation Singers” will be featured as flugelhorn soloist on his own arrangement of the jazz standard “I remember Clifford.” His new march “Queen City of The Valley” will be featured at the Flag Day concert. Mr. Hoaster is retired from the United States Air Force Band where he was chief orchestrator and head of the music library in addition to playing in the trumpet section.

Bryan Kidd, a Waynesboro native, is represented by three selections... “The Road to Chancellorsville” , “Burst of Glory”, and “Latin Winds” . Mr. Kidd attended Waynesboro High School where he played tenor saxophone in the band, attended Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, and is recently retired from his position as chief arranger for the U. S. Navy Band in Washington D.C. “Burst of Glory” was commissioned by the Stonewall Brigade band in 1982.

Will Ruebush, a former director of The Stonewall Brigade Band, taught at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Dayton Virginia during the early years of the 20th century. A prolific composer of band music and church music, he is represented by two selections on the

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Page 3: file · Web viewTo: The Media and other interested parties. From: Bob Moody, director of The Stonewall Brigade Band. Re: Stonewall Brigade …

series. “The Stonewall Brigade March” was written for the band in 1916 and appears on the June 9 concert. “Old Virginia” with words by Rockingham County historian John Wayland and music by Mr. Ruebush was featured in Wayland’s “A History of Virginia for Boys and Girls” that was used as a seventh grade history book during the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Brigade Band director Bob Moody did the band arrangement in 1997 after preparing a “renovation” of the piece for the Staunton Kiwanis Club to sing at their meetings at the request of the late Layton Yancey.

Robert Jager is included as a “Virginia Composer” as he lived in Norfolk for about a decade while teaching composition and arranging at the Naval School of Music at the Little Creek Amphibious Base. Mr. Jager’s compositions and arrangements are featured by the armed forces bands and college wind ensembles across the world. Included in the series are his arrangement of “The World Turned Upside Down”, a British march played by Cornwallis’s musicians as they retreated at Yorktown.

Brigade Band librarian and trumpeter Cindy Hosaflook is represented by two arrangements. Cindy played in the band at Buffalo Gap a number of years ago and has maintained an interest in music through the Stonewall Brigade Band. Cindy has learned to arrange and adapt music for the band through her many years as librarian. Using her personal computer, scanner, and music arranging software, she has become expert at adapting late nineteenth and early twentieth century pieces from the band’s archives for modern instruments. Included in the 2003 series are Cindy’s arrangements of “The Whistler and His Dog” which was written by Arthur Pryor the trombone soloist with the Sousa band, and The Stonewall Brigade March by Ruebush.

Randy Cabell of Boyce Virginia is represented by his original march “Band of the Shenandoah” and by arrangements of “The Stonewall Brigade March” (taken from Cindy Hosaflook’s files) by Ruebush and “The Rifle Regiment” by John Philip Sousa. Mr. Cabell is a strong supporter of brass band music, having given the funds to VMI for the Cabell-Breckinridge Brass Band of “Over the Shoulder Saxhorns”. His philanthropy has extended also to the public school bands of the commonwealth, as he has donated his three arrangements to all the high school bands in the state.

The band premiered two pieces by Indiana composer Shawn Bentz during the 2001 series, and has included these again this summer. “Under the Shade of the Trees” is a reflection on the life and passing of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and is a reference to his dying words.... “Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” “The Mascot” march was written in honor of all the dogs that were mascots of the troops during the civil war. Both of these pieces were sent by email from the composer to band librarian Cindy Hosaflook, who opened them in her computer, “cleaned up” the parts, and printed them out for the band.

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Page 4: file · Web viewTo: The Media and other interested parties. From: Bob Moody, director of The Stonewall Brigade Band. Re: Stonewall Brigade …

Here is some additional “interest” information about families who have several members in the band. This should usable for a “special interest” article and might be worthy of a photograph if we could get all of them in one place at one time. :

Joe and Wanda Kornicke met in the band and were married this past New Years Eve. Both are retired school teachers.

The Deitz family of Staunton has been represented in the band by a number of family members. Emerson Deitz has played in the clarinet and saxophone sections for a number of years. His son Matt, with whom he owns Ace Hardware in Verona, plays in the saxophone section, and Matt’s wife LeAnn also plays in the saxophone section.

Dick Hippeard, first chair alto sax, joined the band when his son, then a student at Shelburne Junior High and a member of the band, invited him to join. Dick has been a member since that time, and Scott has gone through high school, college, medical school, and a tour as an army physician and is now practicing in Blacksburg VA, and occasionally “sits in” with the band. Greg Moody and Holly Harris met by sitting next to each other in the band and are now engaged. Sandy Pennington and her daugher Melinda, who is the band’s only blind member, play in the percussion section. Sandy plays bass drum and Melinda plays bells on the marches. She can pick up the melody “by ear” after hearing a march played once by the band, and can remember every note for subsequent performances.

There are three ministers in the band. David Taylor in the trumpet section is minister at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Waynesboro. Gary Milstead, tympanist, is minister at Main Street United Methodist Church in Waynesboro, and Stew Bridgman, bass trombonist, is recently retired from the Rockbridge Charge of the Presbyterian Church where he pastored four small rural churches for a few years after retiring as a Presbyterian Missionary in Taiwan.

The band has two attorneys, two physicians, several college professors, about a dozen retirees, several salesmen, and several office workers among its members.

The final concert on August 30 will feature three of the specialty ensembles of the band.... the Stonewall Brigade Band Flute Ensemble, The Stonewall Brigade Band Saxophone Ensemble, and The Stonewall Brigade Band Brass Ensemble. Each of these groups is directed by members of the band and rehearses independently of the concert band. Each will play a variety of selections, with the brass ensemble including authentic Civil War pieces played by the original Stonewall Brigade Band. The Stonewall Brigade Band Brass ensemble has obtained the “Over the Shoulder Saxhorns” on loan from VMI and will be including performances on these instruments on this concert.

Note: if you wish, we can email just the concert programs to you in file format so you can just drop them in. We use ClarisWorks 6 for OSX on the Macintosh. I can also translate this document to Word. This file you have received is in a word for windows format on Mac.

Concert programs follow.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARK MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Medley of “My Country Tis of Thee” and “Dixie”in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: Spectre of Fortune.........................................................................Kevin KaisershotOVERTURE: Where Never Lark or Eagle Flew...............................................James CurnowMARCH: The Motorist March...........................................................Louis Rich, arr. FeldbushSACRED: Amazing Grace..............................................................................Claude T. SmithSHOWTUNE: Smokey Joe’s Café..........................................................................arr. VinsonMARCH: Valdres.........................................................................................Hanssen/SchisselSPECIAL: Woodwind Polka.............................................................................arr. Larry ClarkAMERICANA: The Civil War........................................................................James D. PloyharPOLKA: Clear Track Polka...........................................................................................StraussVIRGINIA COMPOSER: Band of the Shenandoah............................................Randy CabellMOVIETHEME: Theme from Exodus...............................................................................GoldPOPULAR: Feelings.......................................................................................................AlbertPOPULAR: Meet The Flintstones................................................................................BarberaMARCH: The Free Lance..............................................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

“The Motorist March” was written for the Ohio Automobile Association” which eventually became the Automobile Association. Interesting is the final chorus where the 1916-era car described by the march goes faster and faster downhill.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARK MONDAY, JUNE 14, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Flag Day Concert“To the Colors”

Posting of colors by Elks Lodge #351National Anthem

Pledge of AllegianceProgram selected from:

MARCH: E Pluribus Unum.....................................................................................Fred JewellOVERTURE: The Unknown Soldier.............................................................................PloyharMARCH:America Exultant..........................................................................................Al HayesAMERICANA: Panorama USA, a bicentennial edition.................................................PloyharSACRED: A Hymn Festival.................................................................................Hawley AdesVIRGINIA COMPOSER: Old Virginia........................................Will Ruebush arr. Bob MoodySHOWTUNE: The Sound of Music........................................................Rogers/HammersteinFEATURE: “Somewhere” from West Side Story.......................................................BernsteinMARCH: Noble Men....................................................................................................FillmoreAMERICANA: American Riversongs...................................................................arr. LaPlanteTV THEME: The West Wing..........................................................W. G. Walden, arr PhilippeAMERICANA: Twentiana....................................................................................Hawley AdesPATRIOTIC: Irving Berlin’s Songs for America..............................................arr. SwearingenMARCH: The Thunderer................................................................................................Sousa

“Taps”Retreat of Colors

The bugle calls are performed by Billy Brooks who started in the Brigade Band when a student at Riverheads High School He continued playing with the band through his college years

(bachelors and masters degrees in engineering and a law degree, all at UVA) and is now a patent attorney in the Washington DC area. He frequently flies his plane from Manassas to Waynesboro, picks up his truck at the airport and comes to rehearsals and concerts with the

band. He also plays in the Fairfax Swing Band.

in appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERT

STONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND GYPSY HILL PARK

MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Ryan Dempsey, Kathleen Haley, Ray Hoaster and Doug Lane, assistant directors

Dixie, by Dan Emmett, whose father was born in StauntonMARCH: Quality Plus..................................................................................................JewellOVERTURE: Seagate........................................................................................SwearingenMARCH: Battle Pavane...............................................................................Susato/MargolisFEATURE: Triad, trumpet trio ........................................................................J. J. RichardsSACRED: Rhapsody on Shaped Note Hymns..............................................James CurnowSHOWTUNE: Showboat.............................................................................Kern, arr. CusterFEATURE: Lassus Trombone.................................................Henry Fillmore, arr. SchisselFROM THE 1860’S: Port Royal Galop.........................................................arr. HunsbergerVIRGINIA COMPOSER: The Stonewall Brigade march.........................................RuebushFROM THE ARCHIVES: The Whistler and his Dog....................................Pryor/HosaflookAMERICANA: Voices from the Battlefield....................................................Robert SheldonMOVIETHEME: Where No Man Has Gone Before..........................................arr. JenningsPOPULAR: St. Louis Blues............................................................................Handy/BocookMARCH: Semper Fidelis.............................................................................................Sousa

The Star Spangled Banner

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

“Battle Pavane” is our oldest march, dating from the 15 th century. We joke about the slow tempo of the march that soldiers back then didn’t have right boots and left boots, so they couldn’t march as fast.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARK MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Kids’ Concert in the Park

Dixie’s Land.... a minstrel song from New York Cityperformed in appreciation of President Ulyssess Simpson Grant

MARCH: National Emblem.........................................................................................BigelowOVERTURE: Kentucky 1800.................................................................................GrundmanMARCH: Band of America..........................................................................................LaValleSACRED: Beautiful Savior...................................................................................SwearingenSHOWTUNE: Disney at the Movies......................................................................arr.Custer CIRCUS: Kentucky Sunrise................................................................................. Karl L. KingSPECIAL: Cartoon Symphony.........................................................................................arr.DESCRIPTIVE: Teddy Bears’ Picnic...........................................................................BrattonSPECIAL: For Children........................................................................................Bela BartokVIRGINIA ARRANGER: Baby Elephant Walk ..................................Mancini, arr. Al WintersSOLO: Tuba Tiger Rag.....................................................................................................arr.JAZZ: Theme and Variation on the Blues.............................................................Van AukenTV Theme: Sar Trek: The Inner Light (Picard’s pennywhistle tune)....................arr. BocookCARTOONS: Meet the Flintstones............................................................................BarberaMARCH: Mother Hubbard March.................................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

The Kids’ Concert in the Park was the idea of Roger Ergenbright, tuba player in the band and band vice president. Roger found the Mother Hubbard March by Sousa for us on the Marine Band web site (he played in the Marine Band at one time), and is also featured soloist on tuba in “Tuba Tiger Rag” which is arranged from the version performed by the Canadian Brass.

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JOINT CONCERT

STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERT29TH INFANTRY DIVISION (LIGHT) BAND, VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD

STONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND GYPSY HILL PARK

MONDAY, July 5, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR, STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND

1SGT FRED LEWIS, ACTING COMMANDER 29ID (L) BAND

Medley of "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Dixie"in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: Independentia............................................................................................R. B. HallOVERTURE: Emperata..................................................................................Claude T. SmithMARCH: The World Turned Upside Down....................................................arr Robert JagerSACRED: Fanfare Prelude on " O God Our Help in Ages Past "................................CurnowSHOWTUNE: Guys and Dolls.................................................................................arr. CusterAMERICANA: Under the Shade of the Trees.....................................................Shawn BentzVa Composer: Jefferson Davis’s Funeral March............................Rinehart, arr. Greg MoodySPECIAL: Homefront--Musical Memories of WW II.............................................ChristiansenMOVIE THEME: As Time Goes By.....................................Herman Hupfield, arr. John MossFrom the 1860’s: General Lee’s March & The Recruiting Sergeant...............arr. HunsbergerJAZZ: At A Dixieland Jazz Funeral........................................................................arr. Spears POPULAR: Hello My Baby.....................................................................................arr. CofieldMARCH: Stars and Stripes Forever...............................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER, Department of Defense Official Versionin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

“The World Turned Upside Down” is the tune that the band accompanying Cornwallis’s retreating troops played as they left their defeat at the battle of Yorktown. “Under The Shade of the Trees” was written for the band by Shawn Bentz. It is based on Stonewall Jackson’s dying words “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” “Jefferson Davis Funeral March” was written for the band for the late 19 th century reinterment of Davis’s remains when they were moved from New Orleans to Richmond.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARK MONDAY, JULY 12, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Dixie, as played by the Stonewall Brigade Band for the past 149 years

MARCH: Under the Double Eagle............................................................................WagnerOVERTURE: Poet and Peasant.................................................Von Suppe, arr. TakahashiM ARCH: Children of the Regiment..............................................................................FucikSACRED: Crown Him with Many Crowns.............................................arr. Claude T. SmithMOVIETHEME: Parade of the Charioteers from “Ben Hur”..........................Rosza/HawkinsVIRGINIA COMPOSER: Road to Chancellorsville...............................................Bryan KiddAMERICANA: Victory at Sea......................................................Richard Rodgers, arr MossPOPULAR: The “Symphonic” Beatles........................................................................CusterMARCH: March Lorraine..........................................................................arr. Mark WilliamsVIRGINIA ARRANGER:I Remember Clifford..............................................arr. Ray HoasterLATIN: El Condor Pasa..............................................................................Robles/FeldsteinOPERA: Procession of the Knights of the Holy Grail................................................WagnerPOPULAR: Uncle Louie.............................................................................................FreitasMOVIETHEME: Canadian Sunset.................................................................arr. WarringtonMARCH: Fairest of the Fair.........................................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARKMONDAY, JULY 19, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Ryan Dempsey, Kathleen Haley, Ray Hoaster and Doug Lane, assistant directors

Medley of "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Dixie"in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: Allied Honor...........................................................................................Karl L. KingOVERTURE: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik..........................................................Mozart/JenningsMARCH: Colonel Bogey.................................................................................................AlfordSACRED: How Great Thou Art..................................................................................arr. HineSHOWTUNE: The Music Man............................................................................Willson/ReedAMERICANA: Sons of Liberty.......................................................................................NeeckSPECIAL: The Good Old USA.......................................................................arr. ChristensenJAZZ: Ballin' the Jack....................................................................................arr. EdmondsonFOLKSONG: Irish Rhapsody..................................................................................GrundmanMARCH: El Capitan.......................................................................................................SousaMOVIETHEME: Moments to Remember.........................................................Stillman/BeelerMARCH: The Mascot.........................................................................................Shawn BentzPOPULAR: Lazy River..........................................................................................CarmichaelPOPULAR: Blazing Saddles.................................................................................arr. BocookMARCH: George Washington Bicentennial...................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

The story goes that because of Hubbard v. town of Staunton, it was established that governmental support of the arts was legal. This law was the basis for the Iowa Band Law, which provided the funding for the Mason City Iowa Boys’ Band, which was the model for the River City Boy’s Band, the subject of “The Music Man.” So without the Stonewall Brigade Band, there would have been no “Music Man”.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARKMONDAY, JULY 26, 2004 8:00 PMROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Medley of "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Dixie"in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: Hosts of Freedom..............................................................................................KingOVERTURE: Fanfare and Flourishes on “Te Deum”..............................Charpentier/CurnowOVERTURE: Flourish for Wind Band...............................................Ralph Vaughan WilliamsMARCH: The Florintiner........................................................................................Julius FucikSACRED: As All the Heavens Were a Bell............................................................Jay BocookSHOWTUNE: Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Ladies”..................................arr. EdmondsonSPECIAL: I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls...............................................Balfe, arr. EricksonVIRGINIA COMPOSER: Shenandoah Mountain...........................................................FaganMARCH: Blaze Away.................................................................................................HolzmanAMERICANA: Civil War Suite......................................................................................WaltersAMERICANA: The Blue Tail Fly................................................ Dan Emmett, arr. GrundmanPOPULAR: MacArthur Park................................................................McHugh arr. HolcombePOPULAR: Themes Like Old Times.......................................................................arr. BarkerMARCH: Foshay Tower Washington Memorial.............................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

John Phillip Sousa wrote a march for the students at the Teachers College at Denton Texas, but was approached by a Mr. Foshay who wanted a march for the dedication of a new building. He sold the march to Foshay.

The Foshay Tower was built between 1928 and 1929 by Wilber Foshay. Foshay was a businessman who's business was creating gas and electric utilities. He had had much success in the Western states and in Central America, and his company found itself in need of a building in the late '20s. Foshay chose Minneapolis and started construction on a building modelled after the Washington MonumentGeorge Washington had been Foshay's boyhood hero and to pay tribute to Washington, the building's design had a simular look to the famous monument in Washington, DC.

The building opened with much fanfare in September of 1929. The opening ceremonies lasted three days and cost a significant fraction of what the building cost to construct. Foshay even commissioned the "March King" John Phillips Sousa to write a march for the occasion. The Foshay Tower Washington Memorial March was played at the opening and there were many famous guests in attendance.

The general good feelings were not to last, however. Just a month later the stock market crashed and so did Foshay's fortunes. He was eventually indicted on 21 counts of mail fraud, and was convicted of 3. He was sent to federal prision at Leavenworth, KS. The charges alleged that Foshay was selling new stock and then using those revenues to pay dividends to the holders of old stock. This is a pyramid scheme and was and still is illegal.

Foshay remained popular with the public and a letter writing campaign to President Franklin D. Roosevelt led him to commute

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Foshay's sentance. President Harry S. Truman later gave him a full pardon.

Foshay's troubles were many during his collapse and one of his more famous problems came from the bill he owed to Sousa. Apparently, the check he wrote to Sousa bounced and Sousa was deeply offended at having his good name dragged through the mud along with Foshay's. Having not been paid for services rendered, Sousa forbid the playing of the Foshay Tower march until he was paid what he owed for it. He never saw the money, but his estate did. About 6 years or so ago, a group of music lovers here in Minneapolis, raised the balance of the debt, and bought the march from Sousa's estate. Afterwords, it was played at Orchestra Hall for the first time since the opening of the Foshay Tower.

After selling the original march to Foshay, Sousa wrote another march for the ladies of Denton Texas, and titled it “Daughters of Texas”

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND IN STAUNTON’S GYPSY HILL PARK

GYPSY HILL PARKMONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2004 8:00 PM

ROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTORRyan Dempsey, Kathleen Haley, Ray Hoaster and Doug Lane, assistant directors

Medley of "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Dixie"in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: His Honor....................................................................................................FillmoreOVERTURE: First Suite in E Flat.......................................................................Gustav HolstMARCH: March from Symphony #2....................................................................TchaikovskySACRED: Billy Sunday’s Successful Songs.............................................arr. Henry FillmoreSHOWTUNE: Westside Story......................................................................Bernstein/IngramVIRGINIA COMPOSER: Augusta Variations................................................................FaganAMERICANA: A Night in the Tropics.......................................................Gottschalk/WilliamsMARCH: Emblem of Unity....................................................................Richards/SwearingenJAZZ: Chattenoogie Shoe Shine Boy............................................................................StoneMOVIETHEME: The Blues Brothers..............................................................arr. Mark TaylorPOPULAR: The Nearness of You.........................................................................CarmichaelMARCH: Powhatan's Daughter....................................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

Holst’s suites for band were written for the British “factory bands” of the early 20 th century. In England, rather than “town bands” that we have in the United States, the towns had brass bands and the factory had “military bands” which were the equivalent of our concert bands with brass, woodwinds, and percussion.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARKMONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2004 8:00 PM

ROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Medley of "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Dixie"in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: Chimes of Liberty..................................................................Edwin Franko GoldmanOVERTURE: English Folk Song Suite...............................................Ralph Vaughan WilliamsMARCH:Brighton Beach...............................................................................William P. LathamSACRED: Voluntary on “Old Hundredth”..........................................................Purcell/CurnowSHOWTUNE: Beauty and the Beast........................................................................arr.BocookFEATURE: Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral...............................................Richard WagnerSPECIAL: More Than You Know.............................................................................arr. CusterMARCH: Bravura.........................................................................................Duble/EdmondsonAMERICANA: Panorama USA................................................................................arr. PloyharCIRCUS : Bravura............................................................................................................DublePOPULAR: Hoagy Carmichael, an American Classic.............................................arr. KesslerPOPULAR: Young Love........................................................................................arr. LeonardMARCH: Washington Post..............................................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND IN STAUNTON’S GYPSY HILL PARK

GYPSY HILL PARKMONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2003 8:00 PM

ROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTORRyan Dempsey, Kathleen Haley, Ray Hoaster and Doug Lane, assistant directors

Medley of "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Dixie"in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: Grandioso..........................................................................................Seitz/GloverOVERTURE: Second Suite in F.......................................................................Gustav HolstVIRGINIA COMPOSER: Burst of Glory..............................................................Bryan KiddSACRED: Fantasia on an Irish Hymn......................................................................O’ReillyMOVIETHEME: The Wizard of OZ...........................................................................BarnesMARCH: Air Waves (radio theme of “The Million Dollar Band”).............................OlivadotiLATIN: Blue Tango.....................................................................................Leroy AndersonSPECIAL: Farandole....................................................................................................BizetPOLKA: Thunder and Lightning......................................................................Strauss/ReedMARCH: Possum Kingdom.......................................................................................DolbierNOVELTY: Instant Concert......................................................................................WaltersPOPULAR: Tammy..............................................................................................LivingstonMARCH: Hands Across the Sea................................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

Burst of Glory was written for The Stonewall Brigade Band by Bryan Kidd in the 1980’s. Bryan is a native of Waynesboro, attended Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, and is the recently retired chief arranger for the United States Navy Band. His father, Bill, owned radio station WAYB in Waynesboro, and played bass drum in the Brigade Band. Brian lives in Stephens City VA.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARKMONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2004 8:00 PM

ROBERT N. MOODY, DIRECTOR

Medley of "My Country Tis of Thee" and "Dixie"in remembrance of our performance for President Grant from the portico of the American Hotel

MARCH: The Guardian........................................................................................KaisershotOVERTURE: Finale from Symphony #2..........................................Tschaikowsky/EricksonMARCH: High Plains....................................................................................Vaclav NelhybelSACRED: Sine Nomine...................................................................Vaughan Williams/ReedSHOWTUNE: Tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein................................arr. Calvin CusterVIRGINIA COMPOSER: Almendra.................................Abelardo Valdes, arr. Greg MoodySPECIAL: Gettysburg, The Movie Score..............................................................arr. CusterJAZZ: Round Midnight.................................................................................Thelonius MonkFOLK MUSIC:Country Gardens........................................Percy Grainger, arr. J. P. Sousa AMERICANA: The Blue and the Gray..................................................................GrundmanMARCH: Washington Greys.....................................................................Grafula arr. SisselPOPULAR: Alleghany Moon..............................................................................arr. LeonardAMERICANA: Hootenanny........................................................................................WaltersMARCH: The Stars and Stripes Forever.....................................................................Sousa

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNERin appreciation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

Washington Greys is the only march (other than General Lee’s Grand March) that we are absolutely sure that the original Mountain Saxhorn Band played. While the original band, first known as “Mountain Saxhorn Band” then as “Turner’s Silver Cornet Band” and finally as “The Stonewall Brigade Band” was a brass band of about a dozen players at the time when this march was first played by the band, the current version is updated for the modern concert band instruments.

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STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND CONCERTSTONEWALL BRIGADE BANDSTAND

GYPSY HILL PARK

MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2003 8:00 PM

FEATURING

THE STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND FLUTE CHOIRFeaturing a full group of flutes from piccolo to bass

THE STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND SAXOPHONE ENSEMBLESoprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone Saxophones

THE STONEWALL BRIGADE BAND BRASS ENSEMBLEFeaturing the “Over The Shoulder Saxhorns”

From the Cabell-Breckinridge Brass BandOf Virginia Military Institute

Concert held regardless of weather.Parking allowed on both sides of park drive.

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The Stonewall Brigade Band,continuous since 1855 A brief history

Condensed from the writing of Frank B. Holt (1982), with additions by Robert N. Moody (2003-04)

The Stonewall Brigade Band had its beginnings as the “Mountain Saxhorn Band” early in 1855. With the popularity of the Saxhorn, which had been patented by Antoine Adolphe Sax in 1845, and with the location of Staunton halfway across the Shenandoah Valley between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountains, it was natural for the group to adopt the name of Mountain Sax Horn Band. While the first president of the band was Edwin M. Cushing, it was David W. Drake who secured the band’s first director. Mr. Drake had been a pupil of Professor Augustus J. Turner, a music teacher in Newtown, located just south of Winchester Virginia. Mr. Drake prevailed upon Professor Turner to move to Staunton, where he became instructor of music in the Wesleyan Female Collegiate Institute. Within six months of Professor Turner’s arrival, the band had acquired uniforms described as of “richest regalia” and had furnished music for the dedication of the Odd Fellows Hall, had held several concerts jointly with Professor Graham’s band of the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute, and by 1857 had begun to travel. On Independence Day, 1857 the band went by train to Craigsville Depot to play a concert, and two days later played for United States Senator R.M.T.. Hunter, who was visiting in Staunton. The first formal public concert of the newly-organized band took place on Friday Night, July 17, 1857, at Union Hall on Beverly Street in Staunton, where, assisted by the Staunton Quartette and the Glee Club, it played before an audience described as “the elite and fashionable of Staunton.” The program included solos by Professor Alby; a burlesque, “Teetotal Society,” by Professor Turner; and a rendition of Turner’s own composition, “Gallopade.” The admission charge was fifty cents per person, or one dollar to any gentlemen accompanying one or more ladies. During the 1850’s the band began a long-standing tradition of playing for all civic occasions and political rallies of any party, and played for President Fillmore, President Pierce, Presidential candidates Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge, and the ardent secessionist William L. Yancey. All political processions, regardless of party affiliation, were headed by the band. All churches were accorded its services. During June, 1858, it presented concerts twice in Union Hall, one for the Methodist ladies, who were holding a fair, and again for the Presbyterian ladies, who were conducting a similar fete. In March 1859, when the two rival candidates for Governor, William L. Goggin and John Letcher, were staying at the Virginia Hotel, the bandsmen serenaded both.

Activities of the musicians took on a decidedly military aspect during 1858, when the state militia was reorganized to replace the old Staunton Light Infantry, which had been more of

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a social body than a military one; the West Augusta Guard was activated and the Staunton Artillery was formed. The frequent parades, reviews, musters, inspections, and overnight encampments of these units were shared almost invariably with the band. At this point in time the band became known both as the Mountain Saxhorn Band or Turner’s Silver Cornet Band, depending on the occasion for which it played. On April 4, 1861, Turner’s Silver Cornet Band, together with the Staunton Musical Association and the Glee Club, presented at Armory Hall the last concert that was to be given before the Civil War. On Wednesday, April 17, 1861 Captain John D. Imboden, commander of the Staunton Artillery received a telegram en-route on a special train from Richmond announcing that the Virginia Convention had passed the Ordinance of Secession. With the outbreak of the Civil War, town bands (north and south) marched off with local battalions. The Augusta Guards became Company L of the Fifth Virginia Infantry Regiment, and its Mountain Saxhorn Band also mustered into General Thomas J. Jackson’s First Brigade, Army of the Shenandoah. Of the band musicians who served during the war, two were killed, six wounded and two taken prisoner. Throughout the conflict, the bandsmen performed a number of combat-related tasks, including guard and courier duties. From early 1862, they served as stretcher bearers and surgeons’ assistants. They were musically busy, too, prefiguring Bob Hope’s USO shows. In addition to entertaining the troops in the field, they frequently appeared in concerts in Fredericksburg, Richmond, Staunton, and elsewhere to help recruiting rallies, clothing drives, and war relief fund raising.

In December 1862, soon after Christmas, the members of the Fifth Virginia Infantry (Stonewall Brigade) were detailed for picket duty along the Rapahannock River, below Fredericksburg. The band exchanged serenades each night with the Federal band across the river. This Federal band turned out to be General Grant’s own staff band. Consequently, Grant would issue an order at Appomattox permitting the Fifth Virginia band, alone among Confederate units, to keep their instruments. The musicians would repay this courtesy later by playing for President Ulysses S. Grant on several occasions, including his funeral service in New York in 1885 and again for the dedication of his tomb. As a result of General Grant’s kindness, the Stonewall Brigade Band has in its possession the only complete, unbroken set of Confederate Band instruments in existence, Saxhorns made in Brussels, Belgium, by Antoine Sax, inventor of the Saxhorn and Saxophone. These brass instruments, affectionately called “backfiring brasses” had the bell pointing backwards over the players shoulder, so that when the band marched in front of the troops the soldiers could hear the music. The band opens each concert with a medley of “My Country Tis of Thee” and “Dixie” in honor of President Grant and in commemoration of the concert played for President Grant from the Portico of the American Hotel when Grant’s train stopped in Staunton in 1874.

The band was incorporated in 1875, using the name it earned during the Civil War, “The Stonewall Brigade Band”. Edwin M. Cushing had continued as President of the band from the

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earliest years, and the band included ten Civil War veterans and eight of the original founders of the band.

Before and soon after the Civil War, the band played concerts on the street corner of Main and Water Streets above the bridge (now called Beverley and Central Avenue), in the courthouse square, once on Reservoir Hill, and on West Main Street opposite Trinity Church.

............................................................................................................................. During the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries the band became known

nationally. In April 1889 the band went to the Washington Centennial in New York City, engaging in numerous parades and concerts; here the band played for President Harrison and ex-President Cleveland. In 1893 the band was engaged for a two-week period at the Columbian Exposition, World’s Fair, Chicago, where the band acquired the first-ever-manufactured over the shoulder bass horn, called a helicon. This was the precursor of the famed Sousaphone, and is still in the band’s possession. The band also marched in six Presidential Inaugural Parades (Taft’s, McKinley’s, and two each of Cleveland’s and Wilson’s) and played at Cleveland’s Inaugural. A crowning privilege came when the band was given the opportunity to sponsor a United States Marine Corps Band concert, under the direction of John Philip Sousa. The Marine Band played before a packed Opera House (now city hall) and concluded with its famous rendition of “Dixie” . After the concert, Dr. Sousa played several airs on the band’s historic bugle, which was used in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War. During the Civil War Junius T. J. Tinsley, a member of the Stonewall Brigade, was mortally wounded while blowing it to sound the charge. It was at this time that the bell was shot off the bugle. The historic bugle is still in the band’s possession, and has been played by such renowned musicians as Herbert L. Clarke (The Sousa Band’s Cornet Soloist), Arthur Pryor (The Sousa Band’s Trombone Soloist), W. Paris Chambers (whose March Religioso was played for many years in Staunton Christmas Parades by the Staunton Military Academy Band), and Dan Godfrey.

For most of the years since the Civil War, the band has been supported by the City of Staunton, and recently Augusta County and the Virginia Commission on the Arts. City sponsorship of the Band has generally been popular among Staunton residents. Over a century ago, however, there were “Proposition 13” sentiments, and in the 1880’s a certain Mr. Hubbard sued the city for its band concert payments. The case eventually reached the Virginia Supreme Court. The Court turned to the State Armories Act, which permitted towns to appropriate monies for “armories, celebrations and other public purposes,” which naturally includes band music, and upheld the city. “Hubbard v. Town of Staunton (1886)” remains a basic case in art law, not only because the Virginia courts recognized local government funding of performing groups. The decision became the basis for the Iowa Band Law and similar statutes in Massachusetts and other states, which have, in turn, become the basis for modern Federal and State grant support for the arts.

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The city purchased thirty acres of the Donaghe farm in 1876 and purchased additional

land to total eighty-five acres by 1889, when the name Gypsy Hill Park had been adopted. On Arbor Day, 1889, the band played while fifteen hundred trees were planted in Gypsy Hill Park, beginning the continuous series of concerts that has lasted to the present. The first bandstand was erected soon after, and was a tall gazebo, in the circle of trees about one hundred yards south of the current bandstand. This first bandstand became infested by termites and the uprights were cut off and the bandstand lowered five feet. During World War II, the termites again took their toll and a temporary structure was placed where the present aluminum seats are located. The band faced west, and listeners pulled their cars in on the grass and children ran around the bandstand as the band played. In February 1976 Frank B. Holt, a member of the band since 1923 and Past President of the Staunton Kiwanis Club asked the Kiwanis Club to raise funds to build a new bandstand. This won the immediate support of Mayor Frank Pancake, also a Kiwanian, and a committee was formed under the direction of Gifford Mabie and Kiwanis President Bruce Grover. Director Robert N. Moody drew up the acoustical specifications and dimensions for the new bandstand and these were realized in the designs by architect Neal Goodloe, who was also a member of the Kiwanis. Contractor Roland Harschbarger coordinated the construction of the Gazebo bandstand without remuneration, with much of the labor being donated by members of the Kiwanis and Jaycees. Much of the material was sold to Kiwanians at cost, and a roofer, Fred H. Painter, donated his time to install the wood shingle roof. The dedication service for the new bandstand was Saturday, July 3, 1976 at 8 pm, by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr., and included a concert appropriate for celebrating the two hundredth birthday of the U.S.A. The Stonewall Brigade Band completed its 115th consecutive season of concerts in Gypsy Hill Park in 2003.

The Stonewall Brigade Band is the nation’s oldest continuous community band to be sponsored by local government and funded by tax monies. While a number of community bands, particularly in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Vermont, have their beginnings earlier than the Stonewall Brigade Band’s 1855 founding, all of the other bands have gone out of existence at some time and then been reorganized. The band recognizes, in particular, the efforts of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in, albeit inadvertently, insuring the continuation of the band. President Roosevelt included in his program the formation of the Works Progress Administration. A “WPA Band” was formed in Staunton in the 1930’s which provided employment for from eight to ten band members who formed the nucleus of the Stonewall Brigade Band during the depression and helped keep the organization going when other community bands, notably the great Allentown Band in Pennsylvania, were forced to disband because of lack of members. Just as the band opens each concert with “Dixie” in honor of President Grant, the band closes each concert with the National Anthem, in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for without the kindness and actions of both of these Presidents, the band would not exist today. It is notable that Dan Emmett’s father was a native of Staunton.

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Emmett wrote not only “Dixie’ but such familiar tunes as “Old Dan Tucker” and “The Blue Tail Fly.” The band owes its continued existence to both president Grant and president Roosevelt, and without the fortuitous actions of both--Grant’s allowing the band to bring the instruments home at the surrender and Roosevelt’s institution of the WPA-- the band probably would not exist today.

In recent years the band has furnished music for the dedication of numerous facilities, including the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace, the new County flag, The Museum of Frontier Culture, the County Administration Complex, McKee Bakery, and the Woodrow Wilson Museum. The band plays for civic, historical, and patriotic occasions, including a visit to Expoland by Ronald Reagan in 1976, a concert to benefit the Valley Mission held at Trinity Church, a trip to Winchester to play for the United Daughters of the Confederacy memorial to General Turner Ashby, Memorial Day Services at the National Guard Armory or Thornrose Cemetery, Commencement at Mary Baldwin College, the Happy Birthday USA Vesper Service, and a visit to Staunton by Oliver North. Every few years the band travels to Fredericksburg to play a concert commemorating the “Trading Of Serenades on the Rapahannock”, and has played a concert for the annual “America’s Birthday Celebration Vesper Service.” for over 20 years The band’s jazz group "Sugar and Spice Big Band" has played for a benefit dance for the Heart Association, and the small "Circus Band" has played for an assemblage of tour guide directors, for the Virginia Horse Center, for the dedication of the German Farm at the Museum of Frontier Culture, and for the Civil War Roundtable. The eight-member Stonewall Brass plays in smaller venues, such as church services, and has developed a program of authentic Civil War period arrangements using some period instruments and some modern instruments. In 2002, through a gift from Joyce Eavers in memory of her late husband Tom, the Stonewall Brass has acquired authentic 1880’s civilian band uniforms. In 1998 the concert band and brass ensemble was featured at the Abingdon Highlands Festival and at the dedication of the Old Soldiers’ Cemetery in Mt. Jackson. In 1999 the band traveled to the Monocacy Battlefield Park Frederick Maryland to play a concert sponsored by the National Park Service in conjunction with a “Union Reenactment Band” from Pennsylvania. This year the band will travel to Manassas VA to play for a special commemorative service by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The band conducts is annual fall-winter-spring series of rehearsals each Monday night, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the band room at the entrance to Gypsy Hill park, during which members learn new music and improve their performance skills in preparation for upcoming concerts. In October the band spends several weeks sight-reading new compositions received “on approval” from the various publishers. The band members vote on the purchase of the music after playing through the selections. In November the band reviews any pieces needing added attention from the previous season, and prepares a Christmas Concert, which has been held in such locations as Western State Hospital, Trinity Church,

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Marquis Memorial United Methodist Church, Stewart Middle School, The Valley Rescue Mission, and The Staunton Mall. In January the band rehearses any pieces needing extra attention and starting in February rehearsals are spent on rehearsing each week’s concert for the upcoming season, with review nights interspersed with run throughs of the concerts. The concerts follow a consistent format, starting with Dixie, which is then followed by a military march, an overture, a concert march, a sacred selection, a Broadway show medley, and several novelty, patriotic, march, and popular selections, ending with a Sousa march and the National Anthem. There are at least 150 different pieces performed each season on from twelve to fourteen concerts. Each Summer’s season includes from ten to twenty new pieces, about one hundred pieces retained from the previous year, and thirty to forty pieces retired from previous seasons and brought back. The Stonewall Brigade Band 116th Annual Season of Concerts in Gypsy Hill Park will be held each Monday night in June, July, and August, 2004. Membership in the band is open to any individual able to play the music and interested in joining. This will be director Robert N. Moody’s 30th year conducting the Summer series of concerts, with assistant directors sharing in the conducting. In January 1997, the band board appointed Ray Hoaster (former arranger for the Air Force Band and current director of the Staunton Ovation Singers), Paul Dembowski (former band director at Spotswood High School in Rockingham County and then full-time graduate student at JMU) and Doug Lane (band director at R. E. Lee High School) as assistant directors. Currently the assistant directors include Mr. Lane, Mr. Hoaster, Ryan Dempsey (band director at Rockbridge HIgh School), and Kathleen Haley (band director at Guardian Angel Academy.) This continues a practice that has extended over most of the lifespan of the band. There are currently 125 active members on roll out of a total of 300 who have been members in the past ten years and over 800 who have been documented as members during the band’s history, and the ages range from 12 to 84. The band’s regular “winter” membership is joined by members returning home from colleges, including JMU, Bridgewater, VPI, Shenandoah University, UVA, Appalachian State, and others. Several of the band’s active adult members and officers had played in high school or college and then had abandoned their instruments for a number of years before deciding to join the band. Included are individuals who went for periods from ten to thirty years without playing and who found that they could reacquire and even exceed their former skills in several weeks of practice and review. In addition, current members of the band are always willing to help prospective members review and relearn their instruments. The band actively seeks adult members who were successful in their high school or college bands. No audition is required of adult members, and no formal “seating order” is followed. Individuals become “provisional members” upon participating in a rehearsal or concert, and become “full members” when voted upon by the membership after three months active participation. Prospective members can contact any current member of the band or call the director, Robert N. Moody, for information. The band is governed by a board of directors including Gary Funk, President; Roger

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Ergenbright, Vice President; Nancy Bassett, secretary; Ray Waddell, Business Manager; Hannah Bush, treasurer; Cindy Hosaflook, librarian; Organizations wishing to have the Stonewall Brigade Band furnish music for a civic or patriotic occasion can contact any board member, email the director ([email protected]), or write to the band at 3 Gypsy Hill Park, Staunton.

The band’s internet address is http://www.stonewallbrigadeband.com .

.

Note: it is difficult to punctuate a paragraph correctly when it ends with a web address,

because the period at the end of the sentence is not part of the web address, and will cause a

“404 page not found” error if typed into a browser. I put several spaces after the web address,

before the period, for that reason, but you folks probably have a better way of “addressing” this

problem.

Additional material at www.bobmoody.org

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