Allentown Band - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Allentown Band is a civilian concert band

Concert band

A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...

based in Allentown

Allentown, Pennsylvania

Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is oldest civilian concert band in the United States, having been in continuous existence since its first documented performance on July 4, 1828, although its origins may trace back to as early as 1822.

The band was known as the Northampton Band until 1838, when the town was officially renamed Allentown. Other names included the Allentown Brass Band (1850-1862) and the Lehigh Cornet Band (1862-1864). Around 1876, the band began using its current name.

Conductor Albertus ("Bert") L. Meyers was a close friend of famed conductor and bandleader John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....

, who recruited at least twenty members of the Allentown Band for his own organization.

The Allentown Band has a long history of performing for visiting dignitaries and dedications. The band has performed for ten United States presidents, including Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

during his visit to the area on June 26, 1839, marching in Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

's inaugural parade in 1901, and performing for Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

. In 1861, the band performed at Independence Hall, in a ceremony presided over by Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. The band performed at both the dedication of Allentown's Soldiers & Sailors Monument in 1899, and its centennial celebration in 1999. The band also performed at the dedication of Allentown's Eighth Street Bridge

Albertus L. Meyers Bridge

The Albertus L. Meyers Bridge is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States....

in 1913, which would later be renamed the Albertus L. Meyers Bridge in 1974 in honor of a former conductor of the Allentown Band.

The band typically performs about 45 concerts per year. Many of these performances take place in Allentown's West Park, where an average of 2,500 people attend each concert. West Park has long been home to the Allentown Band. The bandshell, designed by noted Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

architect Horace Trumbauer

Horace Trumbauer

Horace Trumbauer was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University...

(who had also designed the bandshell at Willow Grove Park

Willow Grove Park

Willow Grove Park was an amusement park located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania , United States, that operated for eighty years from 1896 until the 1975 season. The park operated under the name Six Gun Territory from 1972...

), was dedicated on September 17, 1908. The Allentown Band performed at the dedication ceremony, playing Rossini

Gioacchino Rossini

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...

's overture to Semiramide
Semiramide
Semiramide is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini.The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy Semiramis, which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Babylon...

. The bandshell was later named the Goldman Bandshell in honor of Edwin Franko Goldman

Edwin Franko Goldman

Edwin Franko Goldman is one of America's prominent band composers of the early 20th century. He composed over 150 works, more notably his marches. He is known for founding the renowned Goldman Band of New York City and the American Bandmasters Association...

, noted band composer and founder of the Goldman Band

Goldman Band

The Goldman Band was formed by American musician and composer Edwin Franko Goldman in 1918 from the earlier New York Military Band. Goldman had organized the New York Military Band in 1911...

. In 1927, Goldman was the first guest conductor of the Allentown Band. He also conducted Allentown High School

William Allen High School

William Allen High School is one of two public high schools of the Allentown School District located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States....

's band in the 1930s.

The Allentown Band was the subject of a segment on the CBS News Sunday Morning
CBS News Sunday Morning
CBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original host Charles Kuralt. The program has aired continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m...

television show which aired on July 7, 1991. In 2003, the band was the subject of a WLVT-TV

WLVT-TV

WLVT-TV "PBS 39" is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station serving the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in the United States.The station signed on September 7, 1965 as a National Educational Television affiliate...

-produced documentary titled, The Allentown Band, 175 Years of Musical Memories. That same year, the book The Band Plays On!: The Allentown Band's 175th Anniversary was published, written by conductor Ronald Demkee.

The Allentown Band is part of Allentown's rich musical heritage of civilian concert band

Concert band

s, which also includes the Marine Band of Allentown

Marine Band of Allentown

The Marine Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded 1903, the band played over 130 engagements during its first year. Despite its name, the Marine Band has no affiliation to the military or the United States Marine...

, the Municipal Band of Allentown

Municipal Band of Allentown

The Municipal Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The band was established in 1923 as the Allentown Police Band, which was renamed to the Municipal Band of Allentown in 1941...

and the Pioneer Band of Allentown

Pioneer Band of Allentown

The Pioneer Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded 1889, the band had previous been known as the First Ward Band and the Mingo Band...

Conductors

1828 to 1851: (Unknown)
1851 to 1852: Anthony Heinicke
1853 to 1860: Major Amos Ettinger
1861 to 1878: William Minninger
1879: Lucas Westmeyer
1880 to 1885: Prof. Waldemar Grossman
1886 to 1926: Martin Klinger
1926 to 1976: Albertus ("Bert") L. Meyers
1977: Ronald Sherry
1978 to Present: Ronald Demkee

Discography

Our Band Heritage, Volume 1: Revisited
Our Band Heritage, Volume 2: Revisited
Our Band Heritage, Volume 3
Our Band Heritage, Volume 4
Our Band Heritage, Volume 5
Our Band Heritage, Volume 6: A Tribute to John Philip Sousa
Our Band Heritage, Volume 7: A Tribute to Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore
Our Band Heritage, Volume 8: Remembrance of Switzerland
Our Band Heritage, Volume 9: Salute to Bert Meyers
Our Band Heritage, Volume 10: America's Oldest
Our Band Heritage, Volume 11: Salute to Martin Klinger
Our Band Heritage, Volume 12: Band Concert
Our Band Heritage, Volume 13: Spectacular
Our Band Heritage, Volume 14: Ye Ancients
Our Band Heritage, Volume 15: Virtuoso! The Rare and Glorious Sound of Frank Kaderabek
Our Band Heritage, Volume 16: Americans We
Our Band Heritage, Volume 17: Seasons Greetings
Our Band Heritage, Volume 18: Band on Broadway
Our Band Heritage, Volume 19: Sesquicentennial: The Music of John Philip Sousa
Our Band Heritage, Volume 20: A World of Marches
Our Band Heritage, Volume 21: Blockbusters - The Allentown Band & Allen Organ
Allen Organ
The Allen Organ Company builds classical digital and combination digital and pipe organs, as well as digital theatre organs. Its factory is located in Macungie in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.-History:...

Conductors

Discography

See also