Yankee Brass Band: More Than What You Hear!
I just picked up my uniforms from the dry cleaners, and this has prompted great memories of the successful 2025 Yankee Brass Tour of the Hudson Valley. The concerts in Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Bennington, Vermont; Hoosick Falls; Germantown; and Kingston, New York entertained hundreds of people. It was an opportunity for the band to see new places, make new friends, and present outstanding concerts of 19th-century brass band music.
But it is important to realize that the Yankee Brass does more than just perform. Our tours are an opportunity to serve as musical ambassadors, representing 19th-century bands to contemporary performing ensembles and historic sites. These performances are both educational and entertaining.
I am always amazed that our players arrive from all over the country and in less than a week prepare and perform to such high musical standards. Of course, we could not have done it without the help of Professor Justin Miller, Director of Marching and Spirit Bands at the University at Albany. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for the marvelous rehearsal space he provided.
The spectacular University at Albany campus hosted our day and a half of rehearsals.
It was great to have new players joining with veterans in the band. Five new members joined us this season: B♭ Cornets David Anderson and Mark Davis, E♭ Cornets Steven Weisse, Brian Kanner, and Gregg Cunningham on drums.
New faces. (L-R David Anderson, Mark Davis, Steven Weisse, Brian Kanner, and Greg Cunningham.
Our first concert was at the 1st Street Common Park Pavilion in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where we performed for a small but enthusiastic crowd. The next evening, one of the largest audiences ever to attend a Yankee Brass performance gathered at the Village Park Gazebo in Hoosick Falls. We shared the program with the Hoosick Falls Community Band, and our new friends hosted an old-fashioned barbecue for the occasion. This hometown band has a rich history of its own—it was founded in 1873. Bill Gaillard has been the conductor of these fine musicians for many years, and the band’s proud tradition continues each summer with free concerts every Wednesday evening. It was wonderful to make new musical friends and to enjoy their performance as well.
On Thursday, the band performed at the Clermont State Historic Site in Germantown, NY. This site preserves the former estate of the Livingston family, whose seven generations lived there over more than two centuries. Among them were notable figures such as Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Robert R. Livingston, “The Chancellor,” who helped draft that same document as a member of the Committee of Five. Overlooking the Hudson River, Clermont provided a magnificent and historically rich setting for an equally magnificent and historical concert by the Yankee Brass Band.
Concert at the Clermont State Historic Site.
The concert held at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, VT, was preceded by an engaging pre-concert lecture. Band members Chris Troiano and Steve Gasiorowski, assisted by Paul Perfetti (E♭ Cornet) and Hunter Swanson (E♭ Horn), presented on the history of the original instruments used by the Yankee Brass. A good-sized audience arrived early and were treated to the opportunity to see and hear these authentic 19th-century sounds, discovering firsthand that the members of the Yankee Brass are not only exceptional entertainers, but also dedicated musical scholars.
Bennington Museum Lecture
The final concert of the tour took place at the Hudson River Maritime Museum (HRMM) in Kingston, NY. This performance highlighted an important aspect of the Yankee Brass Band’s mission. Historical museums like the HRMM collect and preserve objects and knowledge from the past to help people understand how history has shaped the present. They gather documents, tools, clothing, art, and technology that represent specific time periods and events. The Yankee Brass Band contributed to this endeavor by bringing a 19th-century musical artifact vividly to life.
The collection of the Hudson River Maritime Museum includes the tow cabin from the steamboat Alida, as well as the sheet music for The Alida Waltz, composed by Johann Munck in 1847. That same year, the Alida began service between New York City and Albany. Munck was one of many composers and bandleaders active along the Hudson River during that period. His band frequently performed throughout the Hudson Valley, making it quite likely that the ensemble played aboard the Alida—perhaps even this very waltz—on one of its journeys up the river.
A band version of this music had probably not been heard for more than a century. Using the piano score as a guide, we created and performed a new arrangement for the Yankee Serenade Band. The Yankee Brass Band’s recreation and recording of The Alida Waltz revived a living piece of Hudson River history—bringing the musical past to life. At every Yankee Band concert, bringing “the musical past to life” is what we do!
The Yankee Brass Band is already preparing for the 2026 Tour. We will be based in Claremont, New Hampshire and scheduling concerts in that area from July 21-25. We hope that our old and new friends will join us for our educational, historical, and entertaining and performances.
Jim Chesebrough, Yankee Brass Music Director