MANSFIELD, PA— The Mansfield University Mountaineer Brass Band, under the direction of Nathan Rinnert, will present a concert honoring U.S. military veterans on Friday, November 11, 1:30 p.m., at the VA Hospital Auditorium (Building 92) in Bath, NY. The concert is free and open to the public.
Following the concert the VA will host a reception for members of the band to interact with guests and residents of the VA Hospital facility.
The hour-long concert will feature a wide variety of marches, patriotic pieces, popular tunes and the national anthem. An Armed Forces Salute, that includes songs associated with each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, will highlight the concert.
The Mountaineer Brass Band is the only traditional, British brass band in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and one of only a handful of university brass bands in the U.S, where the brass band movement seems to be increasing by leaps and bounds each year for the past decade.
The MU ensemble maintains a minimum instrumentation of 10 cornets, one flugelhorn, three tenor horns, two baritones, one euphonium, three trombones, two E-flat tubas, two BB-flat tubas, and three percussionists for 27 total instruments.
Initiated at MU in the spring of 2006, performing on “less-British” instruments like trumpets, French horns and American baritones, the band really took off spring of 2008 with support from the university Provost, who provided the band with new cornets, tenor horns, baritones, and E-flat tubas. This ensemble quickly has become a favorite for both performers and audiences.
The band performs one stand-alone concert each semester, plays one number at the annual music department PRISM concerts, serves as the MU December Commencement Band in Decker Gym and participates as one of the clinic ensembles at the annual MU Conducting Symposium held each February in Steadman Theater.
In addition to these annual events, the 2016-17 Mountaineer Brass Band will be returning to compete at the North American Brass Band Association contest in Fort Wayne, IN, March 10-11, 2017. The band’s first trip to this contest in 2015 resulted in a second place trophy in the third section, missing the championship award by only three tenths of a point out of a possible 300 points.