Allentown Band


[Image:AllentownBand 1872.gif|thumb|The earliest known photograph of the Allentown Band in 1872]
[Image:AllentownBand 1880.gif|thumb|The Allentown Band in 1880]
[Image:AllentownBand 1886.gif|thumb|The Allentown Band in 1886]
[Image:AllentownBand 1887.gif|thumb|The Allentown Band in 1887]
[Image:AllentownBand 1889.gif|thumb|The Allentown Band in 1889]
The Allentown Band is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is the 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.
WWW Official Site

History

19th century

The band was known as the Northampton Band until 1838 when the town was officially renamed Allentown. Other names included the Allentown Brass Band and the Lehigh Cornet Band. Around 1876, the band began using its current name.
Conductor Albertus L. Meyers was a close friend of famed conductor and bandleader John Philip Sousa, who recruited at least twenty members of the Allentown Band for his own organization.
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 during his visit to the area on June 26, 1839, marching in Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade in 1901, and Jimmy Carter.
In 1861, the band performed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, in a ceremony presided over by then-President Abraham Lincoln. The band performed at both the dedication of Allentown's Soldiers and Sailors Monument in 1899, and its centennial celebration in 1999. The band also performed at the dedication of Allentown's Eighth Street Bridge in 1913, which was later renamed Albertus L. Meyers Bridge in 1974 in honor of Albertus L. Meyers, a former conductor of Allentown Band.

20th century

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 West Park bandshell, designed by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer, who designed the bandshell at Willow Grove Park, was dedicated on September 17, 1908. The Allentown Band performed at the dedication ceremony, playing Rossini's overture to Semiramide.
The bandshell was later named the Goldman Bandshell in honor of Edwin Franko Goldman, noted band composer and founder of the Goldman Band.
In 1927, Goldman was the first guest conductor of the Allentown Band. He also conducted Allentown High School's band in the 1930s.
The Allentown Band was the subject of a segment on the CBS News Sunday Morning television show which aired on July 7, 1991.

21st century

In 2003, the band was the subject of a WLVT-TV-produced documentary, The Allentown Band, 175 Years of Musical Memories. The same year, a book, The Band Plays On!: The Allentown Band's 175th Anniversary, was published, written by conductor Ronald Demkee.

Conductors

  • 1828 to 1851:
  • 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 Klingler
  • 1926 to 1976: Albertus L. Meyers
  • 1977: Ronald Sherry
  • 1978 to Present: Ronald Demkee

Discography

Our Band Heritage, Volume 1: RevisitedOur Band Heritage, Volume 2: RevisitedOur Band Heritage, Volume 3Our Band Heritage, Volume 4Our Band Heritage, Volume 5Our Band Heritage, Volume 6: A Tribute to John Philip SousaOur Band Heritage, Volume 7: A Tribute to Patrick Sarsfield GilmoreOur Band Heritage, Volume 8: Remembrance of SwitzerlandOur Band Heritage, Volume 9: Salute to Bert MeyersOur Band Heritage, Volume 10: America's OldestOur Band Heritage, Volume 11: Salute to Martin KlingerOur Band Heritage, Volume 12: Band ConcertOur Band Heritage, Volume 13: SpectacularOur Band Heritage, Volume 14: Ye AncientsOur Band Heritage, Volume 15: Virtuoso! The Rare and Glorious Sound of Frank KaderabekOur Band Heritage, Volume 16: Americans WeOur Band Heritage, Volume 17: Seasons GreetingsOur Band Heritage, Volume 18: Band on BroadwayOur Band Heritage, Volume 19: Sesquicentennial: The Music of John Philip SousaOur Band Heritage, Volume 20: A World of MarchesOur Band Heritage, Volume 21: Blockbusters - The Allentown Band & Allen OrganOur Band Heritage, Volume 22: Kaleidoscope - A Collage of Calliet ClassicsOur Band Heritage, Volume 23: 180th AnniversaryOur Band Heritage, Volume 24: Echoes of the 1860sOur Band Heritage, Volume 25: Lest We Forget...Our Band Heritage, Volume 26: Pennsylvania PioneersOur Band Heritage, Volume 27: Morton GouldOur Band Heritage, Volume 28: Leroy AndersonOur Band Heritage, Volume 29: SousaOur Band Heritage, Volume 30: Cartoon Classics
  • ''Our Band Heritage, Volume 31: Tribute to John Williams''