Category Archives: VBF News

Give to the Max Day 2022

 

Vintage Band Festival is once again participating in Give to the Max Day (GTMD22), Minnesota’s giving holiday. GTMD22 is Thursday, November 17 from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm. In addition to Vintage Band Festival, you can give to as many organizations as you’d like on one platform. Each time you make a donation, you will be entered in a drawing for extra dollars to be awarded to the organization to which you just donated.

Every 15 minutes on November 17, a $500 Golden Ticket will be awarded to a lucky organization. Every hour, a $1,000 Golden Ticket will be given and at the end of GTMD22, a $10,000 Golden Ticket will be the prize.

Our goal for GTMD22 is $3,000. Vintage Band Festival 2023 has a budget of $20,000 and we’re hoping to raise 15% of the budget on November 17.

The period known as Early Giving began on November 1 and continues until 12:00 am on November 17. Each day during Early Giving, there will be a drawing for one organization to receive $500 as a result of one of their donors. In 2021, Vintage Band Festival was the lucky winner of $500 as the result of an Early Giving donation. Help us win another one! All donations received during Early Giving will automatically be entered into the drawings on GTMD22.

Tuba Christmas 2022 in Northfield

There hasn’t been a Tuba Christmas in Northfield since 2019. We’re excited to bring you the following announcement.

Vintage Band Festival is presenting Tuba Christmas 2022 in Northfield, Minnesota on Saturday, December 3 at 3pm. The event will take place in Skinner Memorial Chapel, 405 1st St. E. on the campus of Carleton College. Retired St. Olaf College professor Dr. Paul Niemisto will be the conductor of Tuba Christmas 2022.

Tuba Christmas is an annual event that brings together euphonium, baritone, sousaphone and tuba players of all ages to play Christmas carols for the enjoyment of family, friends and the general public. The music made by dozens of low brass instruments playing as a choir is an experience not to be missed, either as a participant or as a listener.

2022 is the 49th anniversary of Tuba Christmas concerts/events which are presented throughout the world. Tuba Christmas was conceived in 1974 by tubist Harvey Phillips of Indiana University as a tribute to his teacher and mentor William J. Bell, born on Christmas Day, 1902. The first Tuba Christmas was conducted by Paul Lavalle at New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink on Sunday, December 22, 1974.

There are now over 300 Tuba Christmas events produced annually throughout the United States and internationally. Registration for participants in Northfield’s Tuba Christmas will open at noon on December 3. Registration fee is $10. There will be a rehearsal at 1:00 pm and the performance will be at 3:00 pm. Music played at Tuba Christmas will be from “Carols for a Merry Tuba Christmas” which will be available for purchase at registration. Participants should bring a music stand if possible. Details for the event can be found at www.vintagebandfestival.org .

Tuba Christmas 2022 in Northfield is made possible with generous assistance from Carleton College.

Music around town during VBF 2022

Tom Baker’s Mardi Gras Brass

OK, so there’s the fantastic lineups in Bridge Square for four days (Thu-Sun) and Central Park for two days (Sat/Sun) and  the 4 offsite location concerts on Thursday (Farmington, Cannon Falls, Montgomery, and Nerstrand), but is that all there is Vintage Band Festival?

Well, no. Windworks Quintet with play at Fifty North at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 29, and at the Northfield Public Library at 2:00 p.m. the same day.

Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band will play at the VFW Post 4393 Hall at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 29. Tom Baker’s Mardi Gras Brass will play at the Contented Cow Pub at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 29.

Ameriikan Poijat will play at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30 at Tanzenwald Brewing Co.

Oh, and did we mention that on Sunday, July 31, you can hear Vintage Band Festival bands in 8 Northfield churches?

OK, we’ll stop now. Good luck on getting to each and every one of these shows.

You’re welcome!

To view the complete Vintage Band Festival 2022 Program, click here.

Vintage Band Festival opens with Brass Lassie and Selby Avenue Brass Band

Thursday, July 28 at 6:30 p.m. the first notes of Vintage Band Festival 2022 will sound. Brass Lassie, a Celtic band from the Twin Cities with a brass horn component will play the opening set. Brass Lassie is a bold Minnesota-based ensemble combining Celtic music with a big band attitude, performing extraordinary takes on Scottish, Irish and Breton music. Brass Lassie features a four-piece horn section, a great rhythm section, fine fiddle, flutes, concertina and vocals in smart, joyous brass-driven arrangements. The band’s founder and leader is Northfield native Laura McKenzie and Vintage Band Festival is excited for their return to the VBF stage.

The Selby Avenue Brass Band featuring Thomasina Petrus is a relatively new voice in the Minneapolis/St.Paul music scene. The group is led by Tom Wells, tubist, arranger and composer and music educator in the Twin Cities area. Tom’s compositions and arrangements fuel a band comprised of enthusiastic and experienced musicians (including a couple of Grammy winners). While their musical roots come from the streets of New Orleans, they expand from that genre into many others. Thomasina Petrus is a Minneapolis actor and jazz vocalist, known for her signature role as jazz icon Billie Holiday. In 2019 the band did a club gig at the festival, but this is the group’s first appearance at the Bridge Square Legacy Stage. The music starts at 8:00 p.m.

Vintage Band Festival and COVID-19

This the first multi-day Vintage Band Festival since 2019 and the first since the COVID-19 pandemic began. While the transmission level in Northfield (Rice County) is rated low by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the COVID-19 Omicron variants are highly transmissible and it’s still wise to be aware of one’s surroundings and use mitigation measures as needed.

The current CDC COVID-19 guidelines are the following:

Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Get tested if you have symptoms. Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Wear a mask on public transportation. You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others.

Vintage Band Festival encourages musicians and audience members to wear N95 or KN95 masks in indoor settings where maintaining physical distance from others isn’t possible. Please stay home if you have symptoms. We also encourage everyone to get the full vaccination regimen for the vaccines (varies by vaccine manufacturer, either 3 or 4 doses).

VBF music in neighboring communities

In 2022, the Vintage Band Festival music won’t be heard only in Northfield. We’ll have our bands playing in four different counties! We think of these events as musical evangelism. If you love the concert tonight, come to Northfield tomorrow for three more days of this premier brass band sound.

On Thursday, July 28, four veteran VBF ensembles will give concerts in Montgomery (Le Sueur County), Nerstrand (Rice County), Cannon Falls (Goodhue County) and Farmington (Dakota County).

Independent Silver Band from Mt. Vernon, Illinois, will play at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Park in Montgomery in the city’s “Concert in the Park” summertime series.

Dodworth Saxhorn Band

Dodworth Saxhorn Band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, will play at 7:30 p.m. at the City Park in Nerstrand.

Also at 7:30, Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band will perform at St.Ansgar’s Lutheran Church in Cannon Falls. Finally, Kentucky Baroque Trumpets will play at Farmington Lutheran Church in Farmington. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band

If you are in these areas or your schedule won’t allow you to be in Northfield on the festival weekend, visit one of these locations for a rewarding Vintage Band Festival experience.

It’s time to thank the 2022 Sponsors of the Day

We have a new giving category for Vintage Band Festival 2022: Sponsor of the Day. In 2019 we suggested that the giving level of $250-$499 be dedicated to honoring a music teacher that was a significant mentor for our donors.

This year, we’ve designated that giving level for special recognition during each of the four days of Vintage Band Festival. Thanks to all of our Vintage Band Festival 2022 Day Sponsors!

 

Thursday July 28 Sponsors of the Day

Premier Bank, David McKee and Lynn Naeckel, Kathleen Vang, David Hoiness, David Otterness

 

Friday July 29 Sponsors of the Day

Allina Health Northfield, Paul and Maribeth Beck, Norman Grier, Gerry and Carol Gengenbach, College City Beverage

 

Saturday July 30 Sponsors of the Day

Sarah and Ross Currier, Steve Lawler and Joy Riggs, Hogan Brothers, Arnold and Celena Witt, Rod and Deb Christensen

 

Sunday July 31 Sponsors of the Day

Dennis and Janet Hahn,, Judy and Paul Tarabek, Judy Broske, Peter Webb and Karen Saxe, Diane Boyum, Stan Mork

Stage Sponsors for VBF 2022 are the best!

The number of Stage Sponsors ($1,000+) for Vintage Band Festival 2022 is record-setting. We’ve never had such a fantastic response to our action call! We need to thank the following from the bottom of our hearts:

Carl and Joan Behr

By All Means Graphics (in-kind)

Capital Construction

Carleton College

City of Montgomery MN

City of Northfield (in-kind)

Northfield Rotary Club

Mary Rosenberg

Nan and Dave Shumway

Jan Stevens

Lois and Noel Stratmoen

Three LInks Care Center

Looking for Vintage Band Festival 2022 Volunteers

St. Olaf student Sarah Stevens staffing the VBF 2014 Info Tent

 

There are many ways to volunteer for Vintage Band Festival 2022. We need folks to help with setup in Bridge Square on July 27 and 28. We also need folks to help with take down on July 31 and August 1.

From Thursday, July 28 to Sunday, July 31 we need folks to staff the VBF Information Tent to take donations, sell merchandise and tell visitors about the festival. We also need people to manage chairs, music stands, and percussion equipment on the stages at Bridge Square and Central Park.

If you have a couple hours or a couple days, please visit our SignUp Genius website and choose your shifts. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0e48afa92ea6ff2-vintage2

THANK YOU!

Musical History on Display at VBF 2022

Since the beginning of Vintage Band Festival in 2006, the core of the multi-day event has been the appearance of historic reenactor bands from around the country. Vintage Band Festival 2022 will be no different.

Dodworth Saxhorn Band

Today’s Dodworth Saxhorn Band is modeled after the Dodworth Band of New York City, which was the premier brass band in the United States from the 1840s to the 1880s. The original Dodworth Band was directed by brothers Allen and Harvey Dodworth who were among the most highly respected musicians and bandmasters of the 19th Century. In 1985 musical instrument collector Alexander Pollock created the modern DSB as a living history project. The band performs 19th century music including compositions and arrangements from the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress, private collections and university libraries as well as a few new arrangements by musicologists who are experts in 19th Century brass band style and instrumentation.

The DSB is led by Music Director Mark Felder and Artistic Director Lori Gould. Dodworth Saxhorn Band is returning to Vintage Band Festival after a nine year absence!

Independent Silver Band

In 1884 to 1889 the prosperous and energetic Illinois community of Mt.Vernon enjoyed the music of its own Independent Silver Band. In July, 2004, the music of the Independent Silver Band came to life once more. It is composed of 10 local men, all of whom attended the same church and Sunday school. By bringing together interested brass players and percussionists from Mt.Vernon and surrounding cities and towns in southern Illinois, the Independent Silver Band is composed of the proper team of dedicated persons, all of whom shared the vision to give audiences the chance to hear the music of a bygone time.  The band leader of Independent Silver Band is William Reynolds.

 

 

Kentucky Baroque Trumpets

Don Johnson was inspired to play the baroque trumpet, also known as the natural trumpet, in 2004 after attending the Historic Brass Society Festival. He introduced his friends to the instrument, and they formed a group dedicated to re-creating its sounds and styles, including signal calls, cavalry music, dance music, duets, solo music and trumpet with voice, which requires playing in different styles and tone colors. The band members also play modern instruments, and they dedicate part of their performance to educating the audience about the difference between the two types. The band’s Civil War band incarnation, President Lincoln’s Own, performed live in Steven Spielberg’s movie Lincoln and was selected to be in the National Geographic movie Killing Lincoln. This is the band’s third appearance at Vintage Band Festival.The band is currently led by Don Johnson Jr.

 

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 and is making its sixth appearance at Vintage Band Festival.

1st Brigade Band

The 1st Brigade Band of  Watertown, Wisconsin performs period brass band music from the 1860s on antique instruments, dressed in period clothing. They first began in 1864 when the Brodhead Brass Band enlisted in the Union Army as the band of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 15th Army Corps. Upon leaving Wisconsin, they participated in William T.Sherman’s famous “March to the Sea” to Georgia and the Carolinas. In 2009, the 1st Brigade Band was awarded the Rueben Gold Thwaites Trophy for Local History for collecting and preserving history and sharing it with the public. The band leader is Doug Condon. The 1st Brigade Band is making its fifth Vintage Band Festival appearance.

For the complete schedule of Vintage Band Festival 2022, please visit the VBF website.