The Allentown Band is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest civilian concert band in the United States, having been in continuous existence since its first documented performance on July 4, 1828, although its origins may trace back to as early as 1822.[1]
The band was known as the Northampton Band until 1838 when the town was officially renamed Allentown. Other names included the Allentown Brass Band (1850-1862) and the Lehigh Cornet Band (1862-1864). Around 1876, the band began using its current name.[1]
Conductor Albertus ("Bert") L. Meyers was a close friend of famed conductor and bandleader John Philip Sousa,[2] who recruited at least twenty members of the Allentown Band for his own organization.
The Allentown Band has a long history of performing for visiting dignitaries and dedications. The band has performed for ten United States presidents,[2] including Martin Van Buren during his visit to the area on June 26, 1839,[3] marching in Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade in 1901,[2] and performing for Jimmy Carter.[4] In 1861, the band performed at Independence Hall, in a ceremony presided over by Abraham Lincoln.[2] The band performed at both the dedication of Allentown's Soldiers & Sailors Monument in 1899, and its centennial celebration in 1999.[4] The band also performed at the dedication of Allentown's Eighth Street Bridge in 1913, which would later be renamed the Albertus L. Meyers Bridge in 1974 in honor of a former conductor of the Allentown Band.[5]
The band typically performs about 45 concerts per year.[2] Many of these performances take place in Allentown's West Park, where an average of 2,500 people attend each concert.[4] West Park has long been home to the Allentown Band. The bandshell, designed by noted Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer (who had also designed the bandshell at Willow Grove Park), was dedicated on September 17, 1908. The Allentown Band performed at the dedication ceremony, playing Rossini's overture to Semiramide.[6] The bandshell was later named the Goldman Bandshell in honor of Edwin Franko Goldman, noted band composer and founder of the Goldman Band.[6] In 1927, Goldman was the first guest conductor of the Allentown Band. He also conducted Allentown High School's band in the 1930s.[6]
The Allentown Band was the subject of a segment on the CBS News Sunday Morning television show which aired on July 7, 1991.[7] In 2003, the band was the subject of a WLVT-TV-produced documentary titled, The Allentown Band, 175 Years of Musical Memories.[2] That same year, the book The Band Plays On!: The Allentown Band's 175th Anniversary was published, written by conductor Ronald Demkee.
