The First Decade of Alumni Bands

Alumni Concert 2025 — Alumni Band Concert 2025

History of Bands

in Western Pennsylvania.

Music has long been an important part of the human experience, but it wasn't until the early 1800s when inventors took their experience with valves used in the mines and applied the concept to brass instruments. Simultaneously, the industrial revolution so reduced the cost of creating instruments so that the general public - amateurs - were able to acquire instruments. Musical instruments were no longer strictly in the hands of professionals.

Around mid-century, Adolphe Sax took the concept of the valved bugle and created a family of brass instruments (called saxhorns) from soprano to bass, and a brass band that could play effectively out of doors was born. The Saxhorn Band (or Cornet Band) consisted of Eb cornets, Bb cornets, Eb alto horns, Bb tenor horns, Bb baritones, Eb basses, and percussion. The Cornet Band was the dominant musical force during the Civil War using over-the-shoulder saxhorns, with the bells pointing backwards, so the band could be at the head of a parade and the sound would project to the troops following. Unlike modern parades where the music is played primarily for the audience, the Civil War bands were playing to the troops.

In fact, during the time when the only way to have music was to produce it live, music was so desired and important that many commanding officers, such as Col. Armor McKnight of Brookville, purchased a band's worth of instruments and recruited a band as an incentive for other soldiers to sign up.

The role that the Civil War played in the furtherance of bands was not only to introduce the public to the brass band but also to provide many surplus instruments that found their way into the hands of musicians back home. Because all music was exclusively live music, the bands in the communities had frequent occasions to perform. Not only did they provide concerts, but they were also present at political rallies, funerals, dances, and other events.

Professional Touring Bands

In the second half of the 19th Century, there were a number of professional bands that toured the country. Jullien, Liberati, Innes, Creatore, Brooke, and Kryl all had professional touring bands. But the most famous of the 19th Century bands was Patrick S. Gilmore. When he died, it was predicted that his name would live on forever as the greatest band leader of all time. But that was before a young man named John Philip Sousa started making a name for himself.

Though the professional band had profound influence on the amateur bands throughout the country, they were fundamentally different. The professional bands would have instruments not found in the community bands, including some instruments that were found only in professional bands or orchestras such as slide trombones, French horns, trumpets (as opposed to cornets), and many woodwinds. The professional band would often also contain unusual instruments such as the ophicleide, the sarrusophone, and monster EEb tuba.

Types of Amateur Bands

Amateur bands tended to come in three flavors, with the first two being the most common:

1. The Military Band

The traditional cornet band, although the instrumentation had slowly modified:

The Eb cornet lost its dominant position as lead melodic instrument and now simply supported the Bb Cornet as the primary voice
The alto horn was joined by solo alto horns (alto horns in a cornet shape) and mellophones
The tenor horns were joined by valve trombones, and a few slide trombones
The basses were joined by BBb tubas

Citizens Band

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