Tag Archives: Sheldon Theatre Brass Band

Let’s look at the VBF 2024 lineup: 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, MN. The band is made up of cornets, trombones, tenor horns, euphoniums, tubas and percussion. They use the instrumentation of the traditional British brass band and play a broad variety of musical styles including original pieces for brass and percussion, marches, orchestral transcriptions, and unique arrangements for brass. In addition to regular performances at the Sheldon Theatre, the band performs at a variety of venues throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin and has performed at many brass band festivals throughout the United States, including NABBA Great American Brass Band Festival. Jim Kurschner is the Director of the band.

The band has posted a detailed history of their organization in a YouTube video  that’s worth a look.

It just so happens that their 2024 spring concert is this weekend, Sunday, April 28 at 3:00 pm in Red Wing, MN.

The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band will perform at Vintage Band Festival 2024 on Saturday, July 27 at 11:00 am in Bridge Square, Downtown Northfield MN.

Sheldon Theatre Brass Band Holiday Concert

We’re excited to share the news that the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band will be bringing its annual holiday concert to Northfield this year! This special performance is free and open to the public. It will take place on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 2:00pm, at First UCC (First United Church of Christ, 300 Union St, Northfield, MN). More info below.

The Sheldon Theatre Brass Band has performed at all of the Vintage Band Festival shows in Northfield over the years, so you may be familiar with them. They are a full-size British-style band with 30 players. For the holiday concert, they will play a spirited mix of music to delight all ages. Frosty the Snowman (on tuba), Let It Snow! (with a jazz vocalist), and thrilling full-band compositions are all on the list. Bring yourself, your friends, and family for this free show on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

NOTE: They will also be performing in Red Wing in their home venue, The Sheldon Theatre. That show is on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 3pm. Tickets are required and cost $14 – $25, available for purchase at this website or by contacting the box office at 651-388-8700 or buytickets@SheldonTheatre.

British-style brass bands at #VBF2021

Over the years, Vintage Band Festival has presented music from just about every genre of the brass band repertoire. From Alphorn trios, woodwind quartets (with French horn), trombone shout bands and marching bands to  living history re-enactor bands, German and Finnish brass ensembles, New Orleans jazz and the big band sounds of the 1940s, it all works! #VBF2021 will showcase two British-style brass bands on July 31 on Bridge Square in Northfield.

 SHELDON THEATRE BRASS BAND

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, MN. The band is made up of cornets, trombones, tenor horns, euphoniums, tubas and percussion. In addition to regular performances at the Sheldon Theatre, the band performs at a variety of venues throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin and has performed at many brass band festivals throughout the United States, including the NABBA championships and the Great American Brass Band Festival. The band is conducted by James Kurschner and has performed at every Vintage Band Festival.

LAKE WOBEGON BRASS BAND

Lake Wobegon Brass Band

The Lake Wobegon© Brass Band is a British-style Brass Band from Anoka, MN. The British style is a tradition noted for its characteristic dark, mellow tone. The name Lake Wobegon© does come from Garrison Keillor’s radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, and was allowed on the stipulation that the band perform at a picnic sometime for Keillor. The ensemble gives concerts throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas and has toured twice in Great Britain. The band is led by Mike Halstenson. Lake Wobegon© Brass Band is a Vintage Band Festival veteran performer.

Check out the rest of the band roster of #VBF2021 and the complete schedule at www.vintagebandfestival.org.

#VBF2021 will be non-stop entertainment

Bavarian Musikmeisters

The schedule is set for Vintage Band Festival 2021(#VBF2021) on July 31, 2021. The day begins at 9:30 am in Bridge Square with a fun visit from the Above Average Tubas. Four tubas in harmony will provide a melodious and mellow start to the 12-hour brass band extravaganza. The day will end with the glorious sounds of the Roseville Big Band. Regional music fans will have heard them play at the semi-annual Hangar Dance hosted by the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing. The audience is encouraged to bring dancing shoes to join the fun!

Here is the complete schedule for the day:

  • 9:30–Above Average Tuba Quartet

  • 10:30–Jack Brass Band

  • 11:30–Sheldon Theatre Brass Band

  • 12:30–Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble

  • 1:30–Banda La Verdadera

  • 2:30–Lake Wobegon© Brass Band

  • 3:30–Brio Brass

  • 4:30–Bavarian Musikmeisters

  • 5:30–Southside Aces

  • 6:45–Copper Street (60 minutes)

  • 8:15–Roseville Big Band (90 minutes)

The Wenger Showmobile Stage will be set up on Bridge Square in Downtown Northfield. Riverwalk Market Fair (The art of a summer Saturday) will be sharing the Square with us from 9 am-2 pm with 30+ vendors offering fresh produce. ceramics, paintings and photography, baked goods, and lots of activities for kids. Vintage Band Festival provides the soundtrack for the day!

Volunteers are needed to staff the VBF Information Tent in 2-hour shifts during the day. If you’re interested/available, please send a message to vintagebandfestival@gmail.com with the hours that you could work. We also need volunteers to assist with set-up (7 am-9 am) and take-down duties (9:30pm-11 pm).

Check our website www.vintagebandfestival.org often for updates and be sure to follow Vintage Band Festival on Facebook as well. See you in July!

COVID-19 update from Vintage Band Festival

The last event that Vintage Band Festival produced took place on February 29, 2020. We had a great turnout at the Northfield Ballroom for our “Leap Year Swing Dance” with music provided by Bend in the River Big Band. Two weeks later, all live entertainment in the entire country was silenced by COVID-19. Vintage Band Festival went on hiatus for the rest of 2020.

Now that vaccines are being distributed, the medical community and governmental agencies are considering what that means for resuming activities that 12 months ago were thought of as “normal” or “routine.” We are following those discussions and announcements with great interest and trying to chart a course for Vintage Band Festival in 2021.

It’s too early for us to know whether we’ll be able to provide music this year in our usual format: outdoors in a public park. Because of that uncertainty, we are exploring options for streaming music in a virtual format. This could be live or recorded music or a combination of the two. Stay tuned for developments on this front!

In the meantime, we continue to raise funds for the future needs of Vintage Band Festival. We have recently added PayPal as an additional option for online donations at www.vintgagebandfestival.org. We also are beginning to see donors considering legacy gifts to our organization. These are larger gifts using donor-advised funds from investment portfolios. Please consult with your financial advisor if this is something you may be interested in doing. Some folks have even told us that they’re setting aside some of their stimulus money for Vintage Band Festival!

We hope this message finds you in good health and good spirits. One last thought: if you haven’t received your COVID-19 vaccination yet, please do so as soon as circumstances allow. The more people that get vaccinated, the sooner we can gather in a group setting to listen to brass bands together!

Sheldon Theatre Brass Band-VBF 2018

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.

“Recalling History Through Its Sights and Sounds” via the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota

Read a recent blog post about the Vintage Band Festival via the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota here.

“Minnesota Festival to Feature Vintage Bands” via Leisure Group Travel

Note: This article can be found on Leisure Group Travel‘s website. Read more Vintage Band Festival coverage here and here.

The Vintage Band Festival, set for Aug. 1-4 in Northfield, Minn., once again will present performances from a wide variety of brass bands. A rich history is found in British-style brass bands. Two Minnesota-based bands in this tradition will appear at the Vintage Band Festival in August — the Lake Wobegon® Brass Band and Sheldon Theatre Brass Band.

Sheldon Theatre Brass Band

Sheldon Theatre Brass Band

This band style began during Britain’s industrial era, when newly invented brass valves were being mass-produced. The resulting cultural change took “playing in a band” to a new level, inspiring challenging contests that enlivened the working communities, heightening spirits and creating a category of band music all its own. Today the North American Brass Band Association embodies this tradition passed down through the centuries, while many heritages continue to embrace British-style music throughout the world.

Read more here.

Press Release: Brush Up On Your Brass!

Vintage Band Festival
www.vintagebandfestival.org

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Brush Up On Your Brass!
Vintage Band Festival Aug. 1-4, 2013

NORTHFIELD, MN (March 23, 2013) – The Vintage Band Festival is once again proud to present performances from a wide variety of brass bands. A rich history is found in British-style brass bands. Two Minnesota-based bands in this tradition will appear at the Vintage Band Festival in August — the Lake Wobegon® Brass Band and the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band.

This band style began during Britain’s industrial era, when newly invented brass valves were being mass-produced. The resulting cultural change took “playing in a band” to a new level, inspiring challenging contests that enlivened the working communities, heightening spirits and creating a category of band music all its own. Today the North American Brass Band Association embodies this tradition passed down through the centuries, while many heritages continue to embrace British-style music throughout the world.

An important distinction with British-style brass band instruments is that they were standardized and transposed to the treble clef, meaning you could pick up just about any instrument and you wouldn’t have to learn new fingering (just adjust to the new mouthpiece) – for example playing a Soprano Cornet (E♭) could be taught like a Flugelhorn (B♭) or a Tenor Horn (E♭) according to the notes on the staff.

Populated by music educators and serious amateurs from around the Mississippi River shores, the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band of Red Wing plays a regular series of performances at the T.B. Sheldon Auditorium as a “house band” and also performs concerts in other regional communities. They have played at the National Brass Band competition and even hosted the event in Red Wing one year. They also appeared at the Great American Brass Band Festival in Danville, Kentucky. This will be the band’s third appearance at the Vintage Band Festival.

The Lake Wobegon® Brass Band formed in 1992 and is cosponsored by Anoka-Ramsey Community College and the Anoka Brass Band Association. When Garrison Keillor was contacted regarding the band’s name, he responded, “I’m happy to give my permission. The only condition is that you will let me know when the band is formed…and that at some mutually convenient time, you’ll play at a picnic for me. Good Luck.”

The band’s many notable performances include the 35th anniversary show for A Prairie Home Companion and a number of music educators’ conferences.

“We had a blast being a part of the Vintage Band Festival in 2006 and 2010 and look forward to a chance to be a part of the festivities again in Northfield this summer,” said Chris Ravndal, the band’s executive manager and principal solo cornet.

The Vintage Band Festival is a four-day celebration featuring bands from across the US and abroad. Over 100 concerts fill the streets of historic Northfield and will be staged at satellite sites throughout southern Minnesota on August 1-4. The Festival offers a variety of genres, ethnic influences, and period-style performances. Visit http://vintagebandfestival.org/ for more information.

Find the VBF on Facebook at “Vintage Band Festival” and Twitter at @vintagebandfest.

8/25/08 - Red Wing, Minn. - Sheldon Brass Band

Sheldon Theatre Brass Band

LWBB_Wayzata_Church_4

Lake Wobegon® Brass Band

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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