Brazil Concert Band to play at Gobin Tuesday

The Brazil Concert Band will make it annual trip to Greencastle Tuesday, July 5 to perform at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church under the direction of Matthew S. Huber.

The 90-minute concert, sponsored by the Greencastle Civic League as part of its annual Parkfest concert series, will begin at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The church is located at the corner of Locust and Hanna streets.

The 75-member Brazil Concert Band has a long and notable history, stretching back to its establishment in 1858. The band is one of the oldest continuous bands in the United States, and it even played for the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. During the Civil War, all members of the band enlisted, and all survived.

Since then, the Brazil Concert Band has traveled throughout the U.S., playing at places such as Washington, D.C., Disney World and New Orleans.

Director Huber is the longest serving conductor with the band, with 30 years on the podium. Huber also taught in the Greencastle Community Schools for 33 years before retiring in 2008.

The patriotic concert will include marches by John Philip Sousa's, "The Light Calvary Overture," music recognizing the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, and a star-spangled play list of Independence Day favorites.

Members of the Brazil Concert Band from Putnam County include Marcia Boswell, Rhonda Hine, Alice Greenburg, John Boruff, Lucy Neal, Heidi Ellison, Troy Cummings, Gary Van Middlesworth, Daryl Hodges, Allen Basore, Jeff Shively, Carrie Klaus, Kelley Hall, Joe Kaiser, Kirk Frederick, Neil Rissler, Rick Buehler, Chris Sanders and Bob Shobe.

The Brazil Band will also perform its regular Sunday concert at the Forest Park bandshell in Brazil. The concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m. this week, is titled the Carl Kumpf Centennial Concert in honor of the late former Clay County businessman and musician.