Arion Band
Encyclopedia
The Arion Band is one of the oldest community band
Community band
A community band is a concert band ensemble, generally sponsored by the town or city in which it is located and consisting primarily of amateur performers...
s in the United States, based in Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,873 at the 2000 census...
. Established in 1877, the band has now been performing for 131 years. Its current director is Dr. Ronald Horner, professor of percussion at Frostburg State University
Frostburg State University
Frostburg State University is a four-year university located on a campus in Frostburg, Maryland, in Western Maryland, and is part of the University System of Maryland. FSU is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.-History:...
, and its current president is B.J. Lewis. The band rehearses at the Arion Band Hall on Uhl Street in Frostburg and typically gives 5-10 performances in the Frostburg and Cumberland area during the summer.
The band's namesake, the legendary Corinthian musician Arion
Arion
Arion was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb: "As a literary composition for chorus dithyramb was the creation of Arion of Corinth," The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth...
, was the "Jolly Mon" of ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
; he was rescued by dolphins after pirates threw him overboard.
A group of German-Americans in Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,873 at the 2000 census...
, founded the German Arion Band in 1877. During the anti-German hysteria of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the band changed its name from the German Arion Band to the Frostburg Arion Band. The band long since stopped relying exclusively on German-Americans, though that ethnicity still abounds in the region. Today the band is largely composed of young people, including several members of the Frostburg State University
Frostburg State University
Frostburg State University is a four-year university located on a campus in Frostburg, Maryland, in Western Maryland, and is part of the University System of Maryland. FSU is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.-History:...
marching band.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, many U.S. town and cities had at least one community brass band
Community band
A community band is a concert band ensemble, generally sponsored by the town or city in which it is located and consisting primarily of amateur performers...
, peopled by shopkeepers and farmers and kids; it was the era saluted in Meredith Willson
Meredith Willson
Robert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man...
's musical The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
. In towns with substantial immigrant populations, it was not unusual to have one German-American band, one Italian-American band, etc. Most community bands disappeared in the late 20th century.
External links
http://www.ci.frostburg.md.us/ Frostburg, Maryland