The Jericho Brass Band has called Chattanooga home since 1998, when it was founded by Bill Kinnaman, a local structural engineer, and Major Otis Street from the Salvation Army. What started as a small group of musicians has grown into a 33 member traditional brass band. It is now under the direction of Frank Hale, retired Hixson High School band director. The band has made two European tours, currently performs throughout the southeast and to date has performed 569 concerts.
The musicians in the band are all volunteers: a mixture of retired professionals, current area band directors, and high school and college students. The love of their instrument and the brass band sound is what draws them together every Monday night for rehearsal.
The instrumentation for a brass band is a bit different than a concert band, which most of you are probably acquainted with. Cornets are used in place of trumpets, which gives the band a mellow, rich tone. Everyone, except the bass trombone, timpani and percussion, play in treble clef, which allows any player in the band with the talent to cover a part, if someone is missing. The piccolo of the band is the eb cornet and you will hear the high embellished runs, here and there throughout the music.
"We invite you to come experience the brass band sound and energy at Riverbend this year on the Unum Stage at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 16," officials said.