Last concert for the 2023-2024 year

The award-winning Brass Band of the Tri-State from Huntington, West Virginia, will perform 3 p.m. Sunday at Ohio University Southern’s Riffe Rotunda. 

Admission is $15 and can be paid at the door. Students of all ages and children are admitted for free. 

This is the last Ironton Council for the Arts 2023-24 subscription concert. OUS is fully ADA compliant.

Brass Band of the Tri-State is a British-style brass band which was formed about 30 years ago. 

It consists of about 20-25 musicians performing on various brass and percussion instruments. The ensemble performs a variety of music encompassing several genres and styles including traditional brass band music from England and North America, original pieces arranged specifically for the band, music from musicals, marches, orchestral transcriptions, Salvation Army Band music, and popular selections.

The band will perform the following selections: Flourish (Ralph Vaughan Williams); Courtly Dances from “Gloriana” (Benjamin Britten); A Malvern Suite (Philip Sparke); The Cross of Honour (William Rimmer); Irish Tune from County Derry (Percy Grainger); The Essential Elton John (arr. Darrol Barry); and, A Coconut Named Alex (Philip Marlatt).

According to “A Brief History of Brass Bands” published by the University of Kentucky, the brass band dates back to the early nineteenth century and England’s Industrial Revolution. 

With increasing urbanization, employers began to finance work bands to decrease the political activity with which the working classes seemed preoccupied during their leisure time. 

Originally, the bands were funded by coal mines, mills, and many today retain corporate sponsorship. 

English brass bands are also popular in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand; and in recent years a large number of brass bands have started in several European countries. 

There are presently several hundred brass bands in North America. 

BBTS is housed at Marshall University’s School of Music in Smith Music Hall where it rehearses on Tuesdays from 7-9 p.m. The current director is Dr. Michael Stroeher, who is also Professor of Low Brass at Marshall. Its members consist of amateur musicians from across the tri-state ranging from college students to working professionals in various fields of endeavor to retirees. 

Marshall University music students may rehearse and perform with BBTS for ensemble credit. 

BBTS always welcomes new members who have experience playing brass and percussion instruments, and who have played or are interested in playing brass band music.

BBTS was a member of the prestigious North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) for several years, and made several appearances at the annual NABBA Championships, having won championships in the Explorer Division. 

They perform several times a year at Marshall and occasionally at extended care facilities as well as in Ironton and Ashland. 

Their annual performances include a fall concert in late October or early November, a Christmas concert in December, a spring concert in March or April, and a performance for “Symphony Sunday” in Charleston, West Virginia, which is the annual fundraiser for the WV Symphony Orchestra on the first Sunday in June.

For additional information about BBTS should contact Dr. Michael Stroeher, director, at stroeher@marshall.edu.

The Ironton Council for the Arts received ArtSTART and Ohio Artists on Tour grants from the Ohio Arts Council for the 2023-24 subscription concert season which will help defray performance costs and would like to thank the Ohio Arts Council for these awards.