Brazil Concert Band to begin its 155th year

Thursday, April 25, 2013

BRAZIL -- The Brazil Concert Band, under the direction of Matthew S. Huber, will begin its 155th year of continuous operations May 14 and May 21 with rehearsals at Northview High School.

The Brazil Concert Band (BCB), which includes 75 members, invites area adult and high school wind and percussion musicians to join one of the oldest concert bands in the United States. All one has to do is show up to the first at 7 p.m. rehearsal.

The BCB received the Sudler Silver Scroll from the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 2006 for its long history and musical excellence.

In addition, the band has professionally recorded two compact discs of music by Fred Jewell, the Indiana March King and spearheaded the efforts for an Indiana State Historic Marker in Jewell's hometown of Worthington.

The BCB, during its very first year of existence back in 1858, played for the Lincoln Douglas Debates in Illinois. During the Civil War, its members enlisted together with Union forces.

In recent years, the BCB has performed in Washington, D.C., Disney World, New Orleans, New York City, Wisconsin Dells and Memphis.

A Forest Park tradition, the Brazil Concert Band began its performances at the park shortly after World War I with two facilities built for the band, the Forest Park pavilion (1922) and bandshell (1937) with additions and improvements in recent years.

The BCB offers concert overture classics, Broadway favorites, Big Band tunes, delightful waltzes and ever-popular marches by Sousa, Fillmore, King and Jewell and more.

Huber, a member since 1968, has led the BCB for 32 years. He was inducted into the Wabash Valley Musicians Hall of Fame and commissioned a Kentucky Colonel as a result of his devotion to the BCB.

The bandshell seating area, with its 208 personalized benches, makes for comfort in Brazil's Forest Park.

In case of inclement weather, the show goes on in the huge park pavilion.

The BCB will play 13 Sunday evening concerts at 8 p.m. starting Sunday, June 2 and ending on Sunday, Aug. 25.

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