The New Colombian Brass Band

At the turn of the century, America's favorite form of entertainment was the brass band. By the mid 1880s, more than 10,000 bands were active throughout the United States. From the largest city to the smallest rural village, professional and amateur brass bands provided the music for public events of all kinds.

The New Columbian Brass Band recaptures the unspoiled pleasure of that ``Golden Age of American Bands'' in its performances of the authentic band music of the period. The Band features not only the familiar marches of John Philip Sousa and ``chestnut'' overtures such as The Light Cavalry and Poet and Peasant, but also gives new life to a wide variety of once-popular, but now largely forgotten, music for band, including descriptive overtures, ragtime pieces, and virtuoso solos for cornet, euphonium, and piccolo.

The New Columbian Brass Band is under the direction of George Foreman, a nationally recognized authority on American band history and band music of the late 19th and early 20th century. Foreman is also the founder and organizer of the Great American Brass Band Festival which annually draws more than 40,000 band music enthusiasts to three days of free public concerts and related activities on the campus of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

Featured soloists include Vincent DiMartino (comet), Earle L. Louder (euphonium), and Lydia DiMartino (piccolo). In great demand throughout the United States as a trumpet soloist and clinician, DiMartino has appeared as cornet soloist with the New Sousa Band and is heard on many of the recordings of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He is a former president of the International Trumpet Guild. Earle Louder is considered by many to be America's greatest living euphonium virtuoso. He is a frequent soloist with the New Sousa Band and the Detroit Concert Band, and was for 12 years the featured euphonium soloist with the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. An accomplished flutist, Lydia DiMartino has devoted many years to mastering the technically demanding piccolo solos which were considered to be special treats when presented on turn-of-the-century band concerts. She performs on a vintage sterling silver Haines D-flat piccolo which was rescued from the back of a closet in a college band room in Lexington, Kentucky.

The New Columbian Brass Band appeals to all those who still remember fondly the days of concerts in the park; American music enthusiasts; and to music lovers of all ages who seek entertaining new musical experiences. The 23-piece band, performing the actual arrangements of the period using authentic instrumentation, will transport you back to the color, sound, and verve of those bygone days.