In the 1960s, the Columbia University Band twice appeared in a combined concert at Carnegie Hall: with the Lehigh Band in 1963, with Harvard’s in 1965.
The performance with Lehigh, under conductors Elias Dann of Columbia and Jonathan Elkus of Lehigh, ran from Sousa marches to the Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale of Hector Berlioz, plus some Bruckner, Prokofiev, Milhaud and Vaughan Williams, among others. For the concert with Harvard, conductor Dann and Harvard’s James Walker led the big band in the New York premiere of “Emblems,” by Aaron Copland, plus works by Holst, Hindemith, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev and more. To the 120 or so students on stage, especially, each was a memorable evening.
Now, thanks to the Columbia University Band Alumni Association, recordings of both concerts have been digitized and released as a pair of CUBAA souvenir two-CD sets. Included with each is a 28-page booklet with photographs, programs, ads, reviews and articles, and a complete personnel list.
The price is $30 per concert: two discs of music and 28 pages of memories, all in a neat jewel case. Buy at least one of each, or two of the same concert, and they’re $25 apiece. Alternatively, a donation of $60 or more brings the set of your choice as a thank-you. (We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so your donation will be tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law. End of small print.) Either way, free shipping!
Placing your order couldn’t be easier. Follow THIS LINK for a form to fill out your order information, then go to click the DONATE button below to submit the appropriate payment. We’ll send a confirmation once everything’s been received and your souvenir set is ready to go!
Please contact columbia.band.alumni@gmail.com if you have any questions.
