Dodworth Saxhorn BandDodworth performances are ``edutainment.'' In a typical performance, the audience members participate and learn a lot about concert bands of the 1800s. Concert bands were a prime source of entertainment last century and the Dodworth Band brings back the fun that those audiences experienced. Anyone who saw the Ken Burns PBS special on baseball has already heard the Dodworth Saxhorn Band, as it supplied about three innings worth of music for the series. Dodworth Saxhorn Band of Ypsilanti, Mich., is known at the Danville festival for some crazy stunts, such as imitating bands of the past by playing while riding old-fashioned bicycles, or riding atop an elephant. Some of the members also rode in a wagon pulled by a trick mule team. In addition to the Great American Brass Band Festival, the band has entertained at the White House, the Tall Stacks Steamboat Festival (Cincinnati, Ohio), The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, The Calumet Theater, the Cheboygan Opera House and many other places. The band soon will be issuing a CD of the music of Claudio Grafulla, one of the master composers of 19th century brass band music. The band is a faithful re-creation of the mid-19th century American brass band that entertained citizens of Michigan at various public gatherings, including social events, political rallies and military balls. Specific bands of the region included The Detroit Light Guard Band, The Detroit City Band, The Ypsilanti Light Guard Band, The Ypsilanti Cornet Band, The Plymouth Band and The Chelsea Brass Band. Over-the-shoulder horns, such as those many of the band members carry, were much in use, being especially advantageous for military purposes since they projected the sound back to the troops marching behind the band. Soldiers generally referred to these instruments as ``back'ard blasters.'' |