Town Band to mark 140 years of history with major concert

Mullingar Town Band celebrates an incredible 140 years with an anniversary concert on Friday May 24 in St Paul’s Church (7.30pm)

Guest performers include Soprano Regina Nathan, singing priest Fr Ray Kelly, clarinettist Don Martin, violinist Sebastian Petiet.

Mullingar Town Band is a marching and concert band located and started in the town, officially founded in the year 1879 as a Holy Family Confraternity Band.

It can, however, trace its roots as far back as the mid-1800s. The local military barracks supplied many of the early members, who were serving members of the British Regimental bands stationed in Mullingar. Many of the members of these bands settled in the town, married locally and joined the band.

The band remained under the auspices of the Confraternity until the 1940s, when it was handed over to a committee who continued under the title of Mullingar Brass and Reed Band.

It remained that way until membership had dwindled to three or four members in 1957, when Hubert Magee was asked to take the helm as band director.

Hubert was only studying the clarinet for a year or so when landed with the task of holding the band together but he brought great development and growth to the band.

Instrumentation of the band gradually began to change over to military style and the introduction of orchestral styles of instruments such as the bassoon, oboe, flute and percussion such as timpani gave the band a different style and status.

With the addition of these new instruments a new name was necessary – resulting in The Mullingar Town Band.

With continued growth the centenary, in 1979, was celebrated with a membership of more than 100, thus realising the goal of one member for every year of the band’s existence.

Today, under the current directorship of Kim Magee, The Mullingar Town Band prides itself in its dual role of a marching band – The Celtic Crusaders – and a concert band.

As well as playing musicians, the band supports a dance corps/colour guard, which performs as part of the marching element of the band. The Mullingar Town Band has travelled nationally and internationally – to Europe and the Carolinas in the United States.

Including the junior bands, marching band and colour guard, the concert band and the committee, the Mullingar Town Band have more than 200 members involved in the organisation.

This number is continually growing. With the band frequently catering for such a wide audience, the repertoire of Mullingar Town Band is varied – including modern day popular chart music, jazz, blues, classical, traditional, spiritual, country and more.

The Mullingar Town Band strives to continue its role as a leading Irish marching and concert band by constantly updating its repertoire, membership, style and education to its members and audiences. The Mission Statement of Mullingar Town Band is to Educate, Elevate and Entertain through the Art of Music.

- Tickets for the fundraising concert are €20, available from all band members and available on the door.