Our History

Our History

The brass band tradition has roots reaching back nearly two centuries to the industrial towns and villages of Great Britain. During the nineteenth century, brass bands became an important part of working-class community life. Factories, mines, mills, churches and local organizations sponsored bands, giving working people an opportunity to make music together while providing communities with a source of entertainment and civic pride. The tradition also gave rise to the brass band competitions and an extraordinary body of music written specifically for the distinctive British brass band instrumentation.

Unlike the American concert band, the traditional British brass band is made up entirely of brass and percussion, with cornets, flugelhorn, tenor horns, baritones, trombones, euphoniums and tubas creating its characteristic sound. The Salvation Army also played an important role in spreading brass band music throughout Britain and around the world. Its bands brought brass music into communities far beyond the industrial towns where the tradition flourished and helped establish a brass band presence in the United States.

Although British-style brass bands remain less common in America, the tradition has developed a dedicated following here through community ensembles, festivals and competitions. American brass bands have embraced both the rich British repertoire and music reflecting their own communities and musical traditions.

Roman Festival Brass Band is part of that continuing story. Based in Rome, Georgia, the band brings the traditional British brass band sound to Rome and communities throughout Northwest Georgia. Roman Festival Brass is a performing group of Roman Festival, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is the education and promotion of British and American brass music.

For more than 25 years, the band has brought together volunteer musicians from a wide range of backgrounds and generations. Educators, physicians, retirees, students and musicians from throughout the region share a common purpose: making excellent brass music together and introducing audiences to a musical tradition they might otherwise rarely have an opportunity to hear.

Roman Festival Brass performs throughout the year, with programs ranging from Christmas and Independence Day concerts to thematic performances and its longstanding God and Country concert series celebrating American freedom through patriotic music. The band has also represented Northwest Georgia beyond the local community, including appearances at the Great American Brass Band Festival and competition at the North American Brass Band Association championships.

Today, Roman Festival Brass continues what brass bands have done for generations: bring musicians together, bring music into the community, and keep a distinctive brass band tradition alive for the next generation.