The Doughboy Foundation Summer Concert Series presents The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Headquarters Band
As part of the Doughboy Foundation’s educational outreach, the AEF Headquarters Band has been re-established to honor and recreate the music of the World War I era. The band meticulously performs music that would have been heard at the AEF Headquarters in Chaumont, France, between 1918 and 1919. The musicians wear reproductions of the doughboy uniforms, complete with the AEF HQ insignia on their left shoulders, to authentically represent the soldiers of that time.
The AEF Headquarters Band’s repertoire includes iconic period pieces such as John Philip Sousa’s marches, “Over There,” “Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag,” “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” “K-K-K-Katy,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” and “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.” The band also performs works by notable composers like Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Percy Grainger, and Kenneth Alford, as well as music by African American composers James Reese Europe, W.C. Handy, Noble Sissle, and Eubie Blake.
Through these performances, the Doughboy Foundation and the AEF Headquarters Band preserve and celebrate the rich musical heritage of the World War I era, offering audiences a chance to experience the sounds that once inspired and comforted troops during one of the most significant periods in American history.
The concert will celebrate the music Lt James Reese Europe, leader of the famed 369th Infantry Regiment Band, better known as the “Harlem Hellfighters.”
Selections written by Europe as well as Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake will be feature in the evening’s program
The program is free and open to the public.
Schedule of Events
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