The Repasz Band

Pronounce it REE PAZZ. The Repasz Band has been around since 1831 and claims to be the oldest non-military band in continuous existence in the US. (There are some others that claim this as well but there's no doubt this band is still very old.) It's based in Williamsport. Michael and I drove an hour and a half West on Tuesday night to see their concert. It was really, really good.

The band was huge. Michael estimated 90 players and the music was stirring as it was their Americana concert. We especially liked an Elegy to commemorate the events at Columbine High School. There were a couple of very well-played Sousa Marches and some old chestnuts like the Carmen Dragon version of America the Beautiful.

Every Repasz Band concert ends with the Repasz March which is supposed to be really famous. Malheureusement, it wasn't very familiar to me. The concert was in the Williamsport Community Center which sounds like it might be a cinder block Senior Citizen building but was in fact a huge pseudo-Italian Renaissance theater whose color scheme ran to salmon pink and turquoise. As if Liberace and Madonna had co-designed an auditorium. An amazing building with tons of carved wood and faux marble finishes.

Altogether it was a very entertaining evening. And it was great to see how well-supported the band is by the community. The huge theater was full of people. And there wasn't even a donation slip or list of donors in the program nor did they pass the hat. Evidently, the folks in Williamsport pony up and support this wonderful group. Amen to the Repasz Band.