Category Archives: VBF Bands

VBF 2019 Minnesota Bands: 34th Infantry Division Band

Officially organized 30 April 1900, the 34th Infantry Division Band has proudly served state and nation for over 114 years, seeing service in WWI, WWII and the Global War on Terrorism. Whether performing for the public, supporting military ceremonies, or entertaining US Service members and our allies, the Soldier-Musicians of the Red Bull Band are honored to serve in one of the US Army’s most respected Divisions. The 34th Infantry Division Band performs many free public performances throughout Minnesota, including the Minnesota Music Educators Conference, the Minnesota State Fair, and Vikings and Twins sporting events among others. The Red Bull Band will be performing on Saturday, August 3 at 4pm on the Bridge Square Main Stage.

34th Infantry Division Band “The Red Bull Band”

VBF 2019 USA Bands: Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band

The musicians of Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band are dedicated professional and semi-professional brass, reed, and percussion players whose performance is as close to that of a late 19th-century professional touring band as is possible today. Like bands from that era, the group ranges from six players to a full ensemble of 30. It usually tours with 17 reed, brass and percussion players. The band plays only music that would have been heard between the end of the Civil War and the advent of the Sousa Band in 1892, primarily dance music. Concerts feature the most popular examples of polkas, waltzes, quicksteps, schottisches and mazurkas, as well as the march. The band is conducted by Elisa Koehler and managed by Michael O’Connor. Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band will be playing on the Way Park Stage at 1pm on August 2 and on the Bridge Square Main Stage at 5pm on August 3.

VBF 2019 Concerts in Nearby Communities

Most of the performances at Vintage Band Festival 2019 take place in Northfield, Minnesota. However, on Thursday, August 1, the first day of the festival, some VBF bands will be appearing in other communities to share the spirit and the music with a regional audience. All of these concerts will be free and open to the public. Tell your friends!

Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band

Red Wing

Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band

August 1, 7pm, First Lutheran Church, 615 W. 5th St.

 

 

 

 

Original Drachenfelser Musikanten

Montgomery

Original Drachenfelser Musikanten

August 1, 7pm, Memorial Park

 

 

 

 

À Râse dè têre

Nerstrand

À Râse dè têre

August 1, 7pm Grace Lutheran Church, 301 1st St. S.

 

 

 

Owatonna

Territorial Brass

August 1, 7pm , Central Park

 

 

Kentucky Baroque Trumpets

Cannon Falls

Kentucky Baroque Trumpets

August 1, 7pm St. Ansgar’s Lutheran Church, 7459 Hwy19 Blvd

 

VBF International Bands: FinnBrass and Original Drachenfelser Musikanten

FinnBrass is a “project ensemble” that was formed to do tours and performances. They are made up of players from two communities in Finland, Kokkola and Kronoby. They specialize in performing traditional Finnish brass music from earlier decades. They represent a wide range of professions (from education, to medicine, to technology and engineering). Their instrumentation is based on the traditional village brass band of the 1800s. This is FinnBrass’s first appearance at Vintage Band Festival.

 

Coming from Germany is Original Drachenfelser Musikanten, a folk music brass band reflecting the Rhineland tradition of the Drachenfels Mountains. Masters of polka, the band features a tenor horn, trumpet, tuba and accordion. Their leader, tuba player Erhard Schwarz, was at the VBF for the first time in 2006 and is a noted specialist on such exotic instruments  as the ophicleide and helicon. Drachenfelser have been regular participants in the Vintage Band Festival in recent years and have a dedicated fan club among the locals of German and Czech traditions. Original Drachenfelser Musikanten has previously played at Vintage Band Festival in 2010, 2013 and 2016.

VBF 2019 International Bands: À Râse dè têre

It’s time to start highlighting the amazing roster of bands for 2019. We’ll begin with an international ensemble from Belgium: À Râse dè têre.

À Râse dè têre (literally meaning “at ground level” in Walloon language) was created in 2005. They play dance tunes called “arguèdènes” in the Walloon dialect spoken in southern Belgium. Traditionally, the melody line is orally transmitted and the accompaniment is improvised. A flugelhorn, cornet, euphonium, and helicon form a balanced ensemble that is well suited to this musical genre in vogue from the mid-19th century until the turn of the 20th century. The group is composed of four passionate amateur brass musicians: a museum curator, a psychologist, a postman and a police officer. They received their initial musical training in Belgian village bands before improving their skills in music academies or conservatories. They learned numerous “arguèdenes” on the job when they were young bandsmen, alongside older musicians. They want to perpetuate this rustic and old-fashioned music and thus prove that it can also be charming and full of subtleties. The band leader is Géry Dumoulin. This is the first time that À Râse dè têre has performed at Vintage Band Festival.

À Râse dè têre

VBF 2018 Band Profiles: Buddy Koopmans Orchestra; Twin Cities Brass Band; Metro Brass

Buddy Koopmans Orchestra

Buddy Koopmans Orchestra

Roger (Buddy) Koopmans of Faribault, Minn., organized the Buddy Koopmans Orchestra in 1948 when he was still in high school.Back then, young musicians dreamed of being part of a Big Band.He brought together up to 16 instrumentalists from the region (including Northfield resident Hartley Clark, then a Carleton Col­lege student) and arranged for 4-5 gigs each year.Recently Gary Anderson, a clarinetist who started playing in the Buddy Koop­mans Orchestra at age 13, bought the band from Roger.What do you get when you “buy a band.” Books of music, the classic Big Band fronts (music stands), and the right to use the name.Gary brings 16 musicians together, pulling from around the region including the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St.Paul.Fine musicians come together to perform just because they love playing this kind of music.

Buddy Koopmans Orchestra will be onstage at 8:30pm Saturday, July 28 at VBF 2018.

 

Twin Cities Brass Band

Twin Cities Brass Band

Twin Cities Brass Band aims to bring the grandeur and excellence of European-style brass bands to the heart of Minnesota. The band also strives to promote leadership and inspiration for younger generations and to enrich lives through music. Based in Bloomington, Minnesota, the band’s 25 members rehearse year-round and dedicate themselves to performing exciting and challenging literature at a high level. This is the band’s first appearance at the Vintage Band Festival. Its conductor is Adam Hille.

Twin Cities Brass Band will peform at 3:00pm on Saturday, July 28 at VBF 2018.

 

Metro Brass

Metro Brass

Metro Brass is a group of 11 amateur musicians from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area who have only played together for five years. They all play in other ensembles, but come together for the “Metro Brass Sound.” Metro Brass is led by Keith Thompson (trumpet). Recent performances include a concert with the St. Croix Valley Concert Band in Hudson, Wisconsin, and a concert for the opening of the Shell Lake Concert Band camp in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. This is the group’s first appearance at the Vintage Band Festival.

Metro Brass will play at VBF 2018 beginning at 5:00pm on Saturday, July 28 in Downtown Northfield, MN.

VBF 2018 Band Profiles: Copper Street Brass; Minnesota State Band; New Prague Community Band

Copper Street Brass

Copper Street Brass

Copper Street Brass (CSB) is the premier brass chamber ensemble in Minnesota and one of only a handful of self-sustaining brass groups in the country. The ensemble was founded in 2008 as a professionally trained classical chamber music ensemble (which means they perform without a conductor) with two trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba. CSB presents exclusively its own music, which is an original blend of musical styles from Mozart to Madonna, in over 35 concerts and 80 outreach services each season.

The six core musicians of CSB, Allison Hall, Josh Cameron, Tim Bradley, Alex Wolff, Nick Adragna, and Reid Kennedy have a combined 11 professional music and education degrees and thousands of performances under their belts. These artists have performed with world-renowned classical ensembles like the Minnesota Orchestra, SPCO, MN Opera and Malaysian Philharmonic, and also have the versatility to perform with jazz/blues groups such as Davina and the Vagabonds and Nooky Jones. They have recorded for Prince, Grammy-winner Big Walter Smith, and many other groups.

CSB has been heard by thousands of people outside of the Twin Cities area on local concert series performances, summer music festivals, performances with school bands, and collaborations with other local arts groups. Recent performance activities include concert tours throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, and New Mexico. CSB has captured its exclusive arrangements on five CDs.

Copper Street Brass will take the stage at VBF 2018 at 6:30pm in Bridge Square on July 28.

 

Minnesota State Band

Minnesota State Band

The Minnesota State Band, the official band of the State of Min­nesota and the only remaining state band in the United States, formed in 1898. Its history is closely tied to state military traditions, as well as a tradition of touring; since 1986 it has taken six international concert tours. While international travel is important, the band’s primary mission is to provide high-quality music to Minnesota residents. It operates as a non-profit organization with an all-volunteer membership. It will present a 120th anniversary concert this fall. The Minnesota State Band is conducted by Chuck Boody.

Minnesota State Band will play at 2:00pm on July 28 at VBF 2018 in Northfield.

 

New Prague Community Band

New Prague Community Band

The New Prague Area Community Band consists of community members ranging from teenagers to retirees. It plays a diverse selection of band repertoire, striving to entertain all sorts of audiences. Band members are an energetic group who believe that music is fun; they try to show that in their attitudes and in the songs they play at local events and area celebrations throughout the year. The conductor of the New Prague Area Community Band is Rush Wagner.

New Prague Community Band will perform at 9:00am on July 28 in Northfield at VBF 2018.

VBF 2018 Band Profiles: Ameriikan Poijat and Brio Brass

Ameriikan Poijat

Ameriikan Poijat

The brass septet Ameriikan Poijat (Boys of America) appears at ethnic festivals, regional tours, and music conferences, presenting authentic social dance music and concert repertoire.The band is composed of Finnish-American musicians and teachers from Minnesota and Michigan, and its repertoire is derived directly from original hand manuscript sources found among Finn­ish bands and archives.

During the 1980s, group founder Paul Niemisto made contact with many Finn­ish brass players and discovered this relatively unknown musical tradition; he formed the group in 1990.Ameriikan Poijat has toured in Finland several times, most recently in 2013, and trav­eled widely in the United States and Canada.

Ameriikan Poijat will perform in Bridge Square at 1:00pm on July 28 at VBF 2018.

 

Brio Brass

Brio Brass

Brio Brass has delighted and entertained audiences throughout Minnesota’s Twin Cities Metro area since 1999.Composed of more than 50 adult musicians, the group performs its own unique arrangements written specifically for its members.The ensemble’s large repertoire features a broad spectrum of musical styles.Audiences are entertained with fluid ballads, pop of all eras, show tunes, funky rock and lots of jazz.Expect lots of humming, toe tapping and even dancing in the aisles! Brio Brass is led by Rick Rueckert.

Brio Brass will appear in Bridge Square at VBF 2018 on July 28 at 4:00pm.

VBF2018 Band Profile: Sheldon Theatre Brass Band

The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band was founded in 1989 as the resident performing ensemble at the newly restored turn-of-the-century T.B.Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, Minnesota.The band is made up of cornets, trombones, tenor horns, euphoniums, tubas and percussion.In addition to its regular performances at the Shel­don Theatre, the band performs at a variety of venues through­out Minnesota and western Wisconsin, and it has performed at many brass band festivals throughout the United States including NABBA Great American Brass Band Festival.

Jim Kurschner was named Music Director of the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band in January 2002. Since 2001, he has been a member of the faculty at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota, where he conducts the Concert Band and teaches courses in music fundamentals, music literature, jazz history, and chamber music.

The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band will perform at Vintage Band Festival 2018 at 11:00 am on July 28.

VBF 2018 Band Profile: Mariachi Mi Tierra

Mariachi Mi Tierra is the oldest Mariachi ensemble in the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area. Rosalio Castro (trumpet),who formed the group in 2003, has been playing various Mexican styles of music since he was in his teens. Eduardo Castro (also trumpet) is the group’s director.

Finally it is possible to bring together a group that could produce the full sound of authentic mariachi. The members of Mariachi Mi Tierra have brought a great number of regional and current favorites into the group’s repertoire. In addition to events in the local Mexican community, “Mariachi Mi Tierra” also plays at schools, colleges, businesses, casinos, and festivals. Mariachi Mi Tierra has played previously at Vintage Band Festival in 2014 and 2015.

Mariachi Mi Tierra will perform at 10:00am on July 28 at Vintage Band Festival 2018.