R.B. Hall Day is Saturday

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Musicians from around the state will converge on the Shiretown Saturday as McGill’s Community Band hosts the annual R.B. Hall Day of Music.
    Robert Browne Hall was a leading composer of marches and other brass band material. He was born in Bowdoinham on June 30, 1858 and died in Portland on June 8, 1907. Hall is widely renowned as one of the leading composers of brass band marches, second only to Jon Philip Sousa.
    “This is the first time this event has been held north of Bangor,” said Michael Clark, a member of McGill’s Community Band. “I’ve been trying to get this concert up here in northern Maine for years.”
    Six community bands are slated to participate in the concert, to be held from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Houlton Amphitheater in Monument Park. In the event of rain, the concert will be moved to the Houlton High School auditorium.
    “Historically, this is a special event for those involved in music,” Clark said. “It’s a very important day for bands in the state.”
    Bands scheduled to participate in the event include Bangor Band, Brewer Hometown Community Band, Sebasticook Valley Community Band, the Southern Maine Band (a combination of several community bands), as well as the R.B Hall Band and McGill’s Community Band.
    Special concessions will be sold throughout the day, including wraps from Courtyard Café, desserts from Pastry Garden and the ever-popular “Bus” for burgers, fries and hotdogs.
    “Over the years, area people have supported us tremendously,” Clark said. “We regularly have the largest crowds of any community band in the state of Maine. The average crowd for most community bands is 50 people. We average about 300.”
    Clark said he hopes this trend continues Saturday to show the visiting bands how music is supported in the Shiretown.
    “This may never happen again up here, so we really hope people come out and support all the great music that is going to be played,” Clark said.