On Monday, September 16th, Lower Dauphin High School had the honor of hosting the Dallas Brass, a group who has both traveled the United States, and individually traveled the world.
Even though the Dallas Brass kicked off their tour here, an alarming number of people were unaware. The Dallas Brass is a profound group of musicians who perform professional concerts. However, they were not always a nationally touring group.
The Dallas Brass started in Dallas Texas, when Michael Levine founded the group after his love to play. They started off playing for wedding ceremonies and receptions, they played in shopping malls at Christmas time along with other various social events.
“We were like kinda in the background, and it was fun, but then I decided I really wanted people to listen.”
The group then got an agent and started to put together a show. They traveled around, and people liked them. It has now been over 40 years since they started touring.
While they love performing and playing their instruments, it is not always easy. When they perform, they are constantly on the road. Staying in various hotels and Airbnbs, the trip can be tough. Many of them are away from their families for extended periods of time. However, they feel as though they can be right at home when they come to play with kids across the country.
“We’re all connected because of band.”
The Dallas Brass says that one of their biggest objectives is getting to reach out to kids. The group has created several books featuring different tunes and harmonies. They encourage kids to play in smaller groups with these books, hoping to help kids build confidence on their instrument.
Another goal of the group is to inspire kids to play for those who don’t have easy access to music, such as people in nursing homes. This started when the group played a couple songs for a woman in a nursing home and was astounded to see that many other residents had come sit outside her door to listen to them. That’s when they decided to create Harmony Bridge. Harmony Bridge is a program that provides the previously mentioned books to kids so that they can play for people in nursing homes.
The Dallas Brass opened up their night here at LD playing music that could make you reminisce about the Wild West, they then segued into well known tunes like Pink Panther. Later on that night, the Lower Dauphin Middle School Band performed Star Wars on stage with the Dallas Brass. The band was soon followed by the Lower Dauphin High School Band, who played a piece called American Tableau. The Dallas Brass ended the concert with a number encompassing 34 songs. The piece featured very well known songs such as Sweet Caroline and once again played Pink Panther.
The Dallas Brass are an exceptional group of musicians who have created many unique opportunities for band students and create incredible music.
