Today in the ArtZany Radio studio Paula Granquist welcomes members of Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band from the Vintage Band Festival (VBF) to preview their 2022 VBF performances and this musical celebration of eclectic brass music.
VintageBandFestival.org
Vintage Band Festival 2022
Thursday, 28 July – Sunday, 31 July
Northfield, Minnesota
4 Days • 30 + Bands • 60 + Concerts
The Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band
Vintage Band Festival 2022 Performances:
Friday, 29 July at 1:00PM
Bridge Square Legacy Stage
Friday, 29 July at 7:00PM
VFW Post 4393
Saturday, 30 July at 5:00PM
Bridge Square Legacy Stage
Sunday, 31 July Music in Church
Bethel Lutheran Church
The Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band is a select group of professional brass musicians who perform on antique instruments from the period known as the Golden Age of Bands (1870 – 1900). They are a “cornet band” because the instruments they play (with the exception of percussion and occasional trombones) all come from the “saxhorn” family (conical brass). Like the modern British brass band, they use cornets (not trumpets) and alto horns with upright bells (not French horns), tenor horns (also with upright bells), baritone horns, and tubas.
The music is a lot of fun, too: Verdi opera medleys from Nabucco and Atilla, old time serenades, waltzes, and marches.
The Newberry Band was started in 2003 by Michael O’Connor, a musicologist and euphonium soloist who is currently on the faculty at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. In addition to selecting the music the band performs, Mike does the research concerning band history and appropriate performance practice. A noted expert on 19th-century bands, Mike is also an entertaining speaker who provides informative notes about the music during the concert program.
Vintage Band Festival, a four-day festival every three years, provides a joyful, fun, and family-friendly atmosphere with eclectic brass music played by bands from all over the world. Audiences of all ages get to enjoy the beautiful city of Northfield at both outdoor and indoor venues and experience the musical and historical legacy that Northfield has been able to cultivate. Other nearby cities are featured as well. Music and history lovers alike will be engaged by the exceptional and out of the ordinary music experience and emphasis on historical music, dress, dance, and ambience.
