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Excelsior Cornet Band Concert for Lincoln
The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum will open its Abraham Lincoln: The Great Emancipator event with A Concert for Lincoln presented by the Excelsior Cornet Band at 7 p.m. Friday, October 23, 2015 at the Catherine Cummings Theatre, 16 Lincklaen Street in Cazenovia NY. Reenactor Jack Baylis, as President Lincoln, will welcome theatre goers to an evening of music connected with Lincoln. Jeff Stockham the director of the Excelsior Cornet Band will explain the musical selections and also share his performance experience in the movie Lincoln. This program is made possible, in part, by the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts.
The Excelsior Cornet Band is New York State’s only authentic Civil War Brass Band. Founded in 2001, the band consists of a group of Syracuse-area musicians dedicated to the performance of original Civil War era music on actual instruments of the period. Leading the band is one of Central New York’s premier brass players, Jeff Stockham. The band utilizes instruments from Stockham’s large collection of antique brass instruments. After consulting with several of the leading experts in the field of Civil War music and brass bands, Stockham formed the Excelsior Cornet Band so that the music of that pivotal period in American history could be once again heard and enjoyed by area audiences. The musicians of Excelsior Cornet Band are professional performers with many years of experience in a wide variety of musical genres. They perform with a polished enthusiasm that brings the music of the Civil War brass band era to life. The Excelsior Cornet Band presents an authentic Civil War appearance during its performances, wearing accurate reproductions of 1860s New York militia uniforms. The brass instruments used by the Excelsior Cornet Band are period originals which date from as early as 1825 to approximately 1872. Several of them were undoubtedly used by regimental bands during the Civil War. They were carefully returned to playing condition by several of the nation’s leading restorers of antique brass instruments. The mellow sound they produce is singularly appropriate for the music of the Civil War era. All of the music performed by the Excelsior Cornet Band has been arranged for the band from original Civil War era scores. The band’s repertoire includes many of the most popular melodies of the 1850-1870 period, including patriotic airs, operatic medleys, and popular songs by many of the most renowned composers and bandmasters of the Civil War era, as well as many lesser-known but equally exciting compositions. During their years of performing, the Excelsior Cornet Band has presented concerts, parades, educational programs, and living history portrayals for a wide variety of organizations and performing arts in several states. The Excelsior Cornet Band recreates the glorious sounds and appearance of this fascinating and important era, and is available for concerts, reenactments, educational presentations, and other functions.
