Band original to Civil War offers listeners trip back in time

By Valorie Brecht While a person can look up “Civil War era music” online and listen to it, that’s nothing like hearing the music live, as it was meant to be performed, complete with authentic instruments, period outfits and stories that hearken to an earlier time. The 1st Brigade Band will bring that experience to the LuCille Tack Center for the Arts on Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.

“One of the best parts of the show is just the uniqueness of it — seeing a whole band dressed in period costumes and performing that style music, it will bring you back in time, and how often do you get to experience that?” said Daniel Worsham, Tack Center executive director.

The 1st Brigade Band hails from Watertown, Wis., with its roots in the Civil War. Per the group’s website: in 1864, eighteen men from the Brodhead Brass Band enlisted in the Union Army and became the 1st Brigade Band, 3rd Division, 15th Army Corps. The “tradition of excellence” that these men established more than 150 years ago continues today with the reenlisted 1st Brigade Band.

The band makes history live by presenting period brass music, performed on antique instruments band members have found at pawn shops, garage sales or estate sales. These instruments, original to the 1860s or thereabouts, were built for marching and thus look different than the band instruments of today. For example, you may see trumpets or euphoniums with the bells facing backward, so the soldiers following the band could hear the music and keep in time.

More than 80 volunteers, men and women, make up the 1st Brigade Band. Widely varied in age and occupation, they come from many communities, bringing with them a common interest in their musical heritage. During a typical year, they meet their audience more than 40 times, in concerts, parades, military balls and worship services, presenting educational and entertaining programs. While abundant written and pictorial materials remain, the mellow sounds of the brass bands of the 1860s were lost until the 1st Brigade Band, starting in 1964, began to locate and restore the dented and broken instruments and to retrieve and reconstruct the yellowed and torn music. Through their work you can now hear what Presidents Lincoln and Davis, Generals Lee and Grant, and their contemporaries heard.

“They perform a lot of patriotic tunes, a long with folk and traditional songs, in the marching style,” said Worsham. “Some of their selections feature soloists; sometimes they perform with singers — so they do extra things as well.”

For those wanting to dive more into the history behind the music, Tim Kraus will offer a free pre-concert lecture on the Civil War at 1 p.m. in the Spencer High School commons. Kraus will provide some general information on the war as well as show artifacts from that time period. He is the son of Sarah Graves, a relative of LuCille Tack who serves on the Tack Center Board of Directors.

Worsham hopes many people will take advantage of this unique concert opportunity. Tickets are $20 and are on sale online at lucilletackcenter.com or by calling 715-659-4499.

“The fact that they can trace the history of their band to the Civil War and have continued that tradition is amazing right there,” said Worsham. “With the concert being so close to Veterans Day, it will provide a good way to honor our veterans as well.”

More information on the band can be found at 1stbrigadeband.org.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS