Bucks
Quakertown Band Concert
Dear Friends,
Good morning. The Germania Band is alive and well. It celebrated its 132nd anniversary with a fine concert last Sunday. Well, no, it’s not called the Germania Band any longer because it was renamed The Quakertown Band during World War I. Anything relating to Germany was unpopular.
Listening to the 40 musicians play brought back happy memories. I played with the Quakertown Band for more than 30 years during the 1950’s, ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Ralph Moyer conducted the band in those days and was followed by Joseph Blewett. Joe is 87 and still plays oboe and English horn with the band. His daughter Lynn and son-in-law Mark Hasson do too. It’s a family affair.
Until the
Second World War, every American town had a band. Quakertown had two…the
Citizen’s Band and the Quakertown Band. My Grandfather Keller and his two
brothers played in the Geigertown (population 100, I think) Band before
graduating to the Ringgold Band in
Today, few of the old bands remain. Fortunately the Quakertown Band is still going strong. It has an active summer schedule and plays concerts in area parks and church festivals during the summer and early fall.
At the concert’s intermission, I had a nice chat with our old friend, Steve Frederick, who retired from the North Penn school district where he directed its instrumental music program. Now in his retirement years, Steve conducts the Montgomery County Band. He and his wife, Dot, directed the church choir where Mighty Betsy and I once sang. He praised the Quakertown Band’s performance, the perfect gentleman that he is.
I noted that Insaco, National Penn Bank and QNB were the lead sponsors of the concert this year. QNB and the Quakertown Band were founded in 1877…a very good year, indeed.
My mother always said that concert bands are best at playing marches and Broadway show tunes. The program was full of selections, which would have pleased her. “Old Comrades,” by German composer Carl Albert Hermann Teike, is one the band’s favorites. He wrote “Old Comrades” in 1899 and promptly resigned from the German Army because his bandmaster disapproved of the composition. As a result, he skipped World War I, a very sound decision.
Richard Karschner is the Quakertown Band’s Conductor. This summer, he’ll celebrate his tenth anniversary with the band. I asked him about Sunday’s concert and its most memorable moment. “The Russian Easter Overture” was his answer. “We worked so hard to get it right,” Karschner replied. “There are many places [in the score] where sections of the band are very exposed. We wanted to have it sound like a Russian Easter celebration rather than the Russian Army [on maneuvers].” The band succeeded.
Jamie Moyer on the xylophone and
Randy Edelman on a variety of percussion instruments wowed the crowd with a
novelty selection. “Back Talk.” Their second selection
featured the rhythms of the
The Quakertown Band attracts players as young as 15 and as old as Joe Blewett. They were at their best with the Huckleberry Finn Suite, Lady of Spain, and the Broadway Spectacular. Alan Shughart led the band for his last appearance after serving as Associate Conductor for 25 years. The audience showed their warm affection for him.
His replacement on the podium is Albert Zwart. He led the band in the peppy “Shepherd’s Hey” with Eric Connors on the piano, a good choice. Conductor Emeritus Joe Blewett conducted the band for an old favorite, “March Grandioso.” It has a strong conclusion, which features the lower brass. Being an old trombone player, I tapped my toes with delight.
Two Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov pieces
were featured. “The Procession of the Nobles” and “Russian Easter Overture” were performed quite well in spite of their difficulty. With
the complicated score and its multiple rhythms, the Russian Easter Overture
concludes with the bells of
It was a good turn out…probably 500 in the audience that was most appreciative. A “trolley” bus from the Pine Run Community brought 20 visitors to the concert. We clapped in time to the Stars and Stripes Forever at the concert’s finale, the band’s signature piece.
Maestro
Karschner reminded the audience that the band owns its own building where it
rehearses every Thursday night. Repairs are needed, so please be generous. You
can help the band stay healthy by sending a check to The Quakertown Band,
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith