davewerden

Pennsylvania-born composer Monroe Althouse (1853-1924) played violin, cornet and trombone, and was a friend of John Philip Sousa. Althouse composed about 150 marches in his lifetime.


In the 1970's many bands from around the world, including all the major U.S. military bands, participated in a project to record marches that had become less-well-remembered over the years. The series was funded by euphonium hobbyist Robert Hoe and was called "Heritage of the March."

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I have written about this before, but it is time for a reminder. There is a great website called Brasscast that offers a podcast every week featuring brass bands (or sometimes individual players or composers) from around the world. I am always surprised by the number and variety of bands they feature, from world-famous bands such as Black Dyke Mills to bands I haven't heard of before but am glad to learn about. But they all have something to offer!


Their most recent podcast, from ...

I have been "studying" one of my favorite movies lately -- The Music Man. "Why do I like it?" you might ask. First, it is set in my home state of Iowa. And of course it is the only musical I can think of that has a song with the word "euphonium" in it. But mostly I just like the music.


I hope you are already familiar with the story. I cheating salesman goes from town to town in the Midwest selling things people don't need. So he creates a need. In ...