The Bandsmen
The Wildcat Regiment Band today is comprised
of musicians of all ages and from various professional backgrounds.
Like their predecessors, the current bandsmen have been recruited
from the same geographical area in Pennsylvania and come from all
walks of life.
Locations
The Wildcat Band has performed for historic and civic events throughout the Eastern United States. National Park Service engagements include regular visits to
Antietam,
Sharpsburg,
Fredericksburg,
Gettysburg,
Harpers Ferry,
Manassas, and
Monocacy.
The Wildcats perform extensively in Western Pennsylvania and at musical festivals and other events in towns such as Bethlehem and Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Wheeling, West Virginia.
The band has been invited to perform in the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg as well as the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The Wildcats have been fortunate to participate in musical events at the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
The band also performs at 19th century balls, dances and cotillions. The band also conducts lectures and demonstrations that address the history of the 19th century brass band movement and the evolution of brass instruments.
The Instruments
The cornets and saxhorns played by the
Wildcat Band today are the same as the instruments 
that were in service during battle and dress parades in 1861. All
of the horns date from the Civil War era, some as early as
1845. Refurbished with the skill of a true craftsman, these instruments
are once again playing the melodies heard more than a century ago.
Among the instruments making up the Wildcat
Regiment Band today are valved bugles, cornets, and an assortment
of alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxhorns and rope
tension drums. The various designs of
horns introduce the audience to the assortment of instruments common
in that period. One such design was referred to as the "over the shoulder"
horn. This particular pattern was very popular with military bands
and was used in parade format so troops following the band could clearly
hear the music.
The Music
Much of regimental band music that was
performed had its roots in the small town "cornet bands" of the 19th
century. 
It was natural for their music to accompany the bandsmen
as they filled the ranks of the regimental band. Quicksteps, ballads,
overtures and marches played by the Wildcat Regiment Band today are
the same musical pieces that once touched the lives of soldiers and
civilians, providing comfort, encouragement and a spirit of patriotism.
Many of these original 19th century arrangements have been taken from
band books found in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution and
Library of Congress, as well as from private collections. Among the
selections performed are "Lurline Quickstep", "Carnival Waltz", "Old K. Y, Ky", "Hunters Chorus from the Rose of Erin"
and "Puritani Quickstep". Through the year, when the
band is not scheduled for performances, much time is devoted to research
of original music to add to the band's continually expanding repertoire.
The Dress
From brass buttons and simple hand stitching, to wooden pegged brogans, the Wildcat Regiment Band brings authenticity in dress and manner. The band's uniforms - sewn from natural wool fibers - are authentic in every detail, and have been patterned from actual specimens worn by Pennsylvania bandsmen in the Union army. This authenticity in dress presents the audience with the most accurate appearance possible...next to actually living during the 1860's.
