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Real old-time music comes back to Aurora |
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Concert of
colony music at Butteville Church March 25 |
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| Photo By Ray Hughey |
| This closeup shows details of a
schellenbaum or tree of bells, an instrument once played
by members of the Aurora Old Colony Band in the 19th
century. |
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By Ray Hughey
The Aurora Colony Historical Society will present a concert of
music once lost to the past on Sunday, March 25, at Butteville
Community Church.
The New Aurora Colony Brass Band will perform the first
concert of original music composed by the musicians of the
Christian colony that settled Aurora 150 years ago. The “Bring
Back the Music” concert featuring 12 or more pieces will be
presented from 2 to 4 p.m. at the church at 10858 Arndt Road
N.E.
The collection of handwritten music was discovered just two
years ago, said museum curator Patrick Harris. It consists of
four to five boxes of manuscripts from 1856 to the 1883.
Until then, only bits and pieces of colony music were
available, snippets written for one instrument or another, but
not the entire band. The modern-day members of the Aurora band
tried writing the rest of the music themselves and as discovered
later, were pretty much on target, Harris said.
The modern-day incarnation of the colony band is made up of
10 professional musicians, many sharing the Oregon Symphony
background of the director, retired principal tuba John Keil
Richards.
The members of the modern-day colony band play the same
vintage instruments as the original band, including, cornets,
horns in base, baritone and tenor and flutes and piccolos made
of wood.
They also play some rare instruments no longer seen in
today’s bands, such as a schellenbaum or tree of bells and an
opheicleide, a forerunner to the saxophone with a big booming
sound
The original Aurora Colony Band was considered a must at
Fourth of Julys, graduations and other events, Harris said.
“It was a lot of oom-pah music, polkas and waltzes and things
like that,” he said.
It had about 18 to 30 members, depending on if it was
traveling. From the 1860s to the 1880s, the band played all over
the Northwest.
It also had a string orchestra with about seven musicians and
for the younger crowd, the pie and beer band that played local
dances.
Colony founder William Keil was a music lover, Harris said.
That was one of the characteristics they wanted to teach their
children. Their music teacher was Henry Finck.
“Music was such an enormous part of the colony,” said Gail
Robinson, project manager for the Oregon Music Project.
“Children were expected to know at lease one instrument and
probably more.”
The historical society has been working to preserve the
vintage music as part of Oregon’s heritage. The project is
supported in part by a grant from the State of Oregon’s Heritage
Commission.
The historical society intends to have the vintage music in
Oregon school and community bands in time for the state’s 150th
birthday celebration.
Tickets for the concert are priced at $20 each. For
reservations, call 503-678-5754 or e-mail info@auroracolonymuseum.com |
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