Olde Towne Brass of Huntsville, Ala., will be making its sixth appearance in Danville 9 a.m. Saturday at Weisiger Park with other performances scheduled at Norton Center Lawn and Centre Shoppes Bookstore.
The seven-man group recreates the sights and sounds of mid-19th century bands, playing selections arranged from original scores on actual Civil War instruments, while attired in authentic uniforms. The band says that the instruments made of solid nickel and silver actually make a smoother, more lyrical sound than contemporary pure brass instruments. 
With a special emphasis on the War Between the States, Olde Towne Brass
presents programs that give the history of a song, facts about the composer, and where the song was performed. The group then plays the song in the manner it was performed more than 135 years ago. The music library of Olde Towne Brass includes more than 1,500 songs of this period. For a local tie, Olde Towne Brass plans to play a march called "General Birney's Quickstep," based on Civil War general David Bill Birney, whose family was native to Danville. 
The group will appear in the Peridot Pictures release, "The Greatest Adventure Of My Life," which was filmed in Bowling Green. It is the story of a Union drummer boy's escapades after being captured and forced into allegiance with the Confederacy, and his ultimate escape. It will be released this summer.
The group also worked with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns to arrange and record music for two productions: a film about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony called "Not for Ourselves Alone" and a 10-part series on the history of American jazz music. Both films aired on PBS.
Some of the group's more recent performances include: 135th anniversary Battle of Chickamauga; a back-up of musician Doug Jimmerson at Goucher College in Baltimore; Battle Re-enactments in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and Virginia; Memorial Day Parade and Living History in Lewes, Del.; and for the dedication of the Confederate flag monument in Montgomery, Ala. 
The band's Web site is www.otbrass.com. 
OTB members include engineers in the space, defense, and safety industries, as well as musical instrument technicians and craftsmen from the Huntsville area.
Members include Werner Smock, E-flat cornet; Dale Proctor, B-flat cornet; Bob Baccus, E-flat alto; Mark Fisher, B-flat baritone; Bill Deiss, E-flat tuba; Terry Cornett, snare drum; and Doug Burdette, bass drum.