BCB finale to commemorate the day Sousa came to town

BRAZIL -- The Brazil Concert Band, under the direction of Matthew S. Huber, will present “The Day Sousa and His Band Came to Brazil” for the grand finale of the summer band season Sunday, Aug. 27.

The free concert will take place rain or shine at Brazil’s Forest Park at 7:30 p.m.

Through his research of the Sousa Band route books, John Philip Huber learned that Sousa and His Band performed in Brazil on Oct. 2, 1912 for a matinee concert at the Sourwine Theater.

Robert Hostetler found an article in the former Brazil Weekly Democrat newspaper confirming the appearance of Sousa and that the train was more than an hour late getting to town. Those with automobiles met Sousa and his musicians at the railroad station and rushed them to the theater where the band indeed performed a full concert before heading to Terre Haute for an evening show.

To commemorate the event, the Brazil Concert Band has commissioned an official Sousa Band plaque from the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The plaque will be dedicated this Sunday and then reside at the Clay County Historical Society Museum.

John Philip Huber, music director at Turkey Run Schools, further researched the music Sousa often played during the 1912 era for Sunday’s concert. He will perform Herbert L. Clarke’s “Carnival of Venice” on euphonium.

The program includes “King Cotton,” “Manhattan Beach,” “With Pleasure,” “The Fairest of the Fair,” “The Federal,” “The Grand Promenade at the White House,” “The Free Lance,” excerpts from “Dwellers of the Western World,” the waltz and march from “El Capitan” and “Stars and Stripes Forever,” all by Sousa.