Advocate band is a hit in Germany

Editor's note: Advocate Staff Writer Brenda Edwards and Editor and Publisher Mary Schurz are traveling with The Advocate Brass Band on its European tour. The following is the first in a series of stories which will be filed from Germany and The Netherlands.

Part 2 -  Advocate band, German audience connect in rare, 'mysterious way'
Part 3 - Germany was like home sweet home

By BRENDA EDWARDS
Staff Writer

HERFORST, Germany - The community gave The Advocate Brass Band a warm welcome last Friday as the group began its concert tour of northern Europe.

A large sign above the bandstand made it clear that the Musikverein Herforst community band gave a warm welcome from the heart.

"Music is a language everybody understands," a quote by Jim Wilson, proved to be true.

Since members of the two bands had become friends at the Great American Brass Band Festival in June, there was little trouble with the two languages.

A welcoming dinner of German food was provided on the evening that the band arrived.

George Foreman, director of the Advocate band, gave the German band members T-Shirts with the logo featuring each band and flags representing the two countries. He also presented them with coverlets with historic places in Danville, Centre College sweatshirts and beer steins. Herforst band director Peter Legrand said, "It was like Christmas in the summer."

It was a wonderful party, Foreman said.

Foreman plans to continue to recruit bands from other countries to keep the international flavor at the local band festival. He has invited the Swedish and Italian bands that were unable to be in Danville this year to play in 2001.

"The festival organizers are interested in getting two or three foreign groups for the Brass Band Festival each year. It will keep the festival going with an international flavor and builds a repetition for the festival," Forman said.

Herforst is a community of about 1,300 people, including 200 to 300 Americans living here while stationed at the nearby Spangdahlem Air Force Base. It is located in northwest Germany, near Trier, a historic city that was the capitol of the western section of the Roman Empire and has relics dating back to the second century. It's also close to Bitburg, where Germany's second largest brewery is located.

Concerts are also planed in Luxembourg, Leimen, Germany; Brussels, Belgium and Alphen on de Rijan, Netherlands, before the tour ends Sunday.

The 36-member Advocate band has members ranging from 14-year-old Donald Johnson III of Lebanon to 79-year -old Ted Haly of Danville. Also on the concert tour are five other well-known professional musicians from across the country.

"This band is different from other bands," said Foreman. "It's patterned after bands that played in the 1880-1920s."

Copyright  The Advocate-Messenger
This article first appeared in the August 4, 2000, edition of The Advocate-Messenger

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