The Sauerkraut Band consists musicians from
the New River Valley; some of the best musical talent in the area. The band
includes Sara Beth Keough (Blacksburg), Russell Shock (Blacksburg), Tim Douthat
(Christiansburg), and Ed Turner (Christiansburg) on trumpet, Mary Keffer (New
Castle), Elizabeth Bowles (Bluefield), and Bruce McGarvey (Blacksburg) on
clarinet, Seth Williamson (Floyd) on tenor horn, Tom Williams (Willis) on
drums, Jude Raffeinner (Galax) on tuba, and Ruth Neumann (Floyd) on accordion
and vocals. The bands trombonist and leader is Ed Schwartz (Christiansburg).
The group plays all types of traditional German beer tent music using authentic
scores and in traditional performance styles.
Ed Schwartz, the leader of the band, states,
"After playing music throughout Southern Germany for over three years, I
felt comfortable with the German traditions. I put my first German band
together over a dozen years ago as a lark, and have played German parties and
Oktoberfests every year since. I just pull together the best musicians that I
can find and have fun!"
Schwartz believes that the live performance
of this type of ethnic music can bring about a closer tie to that particular
ethnic group. "We sometimes tend to forget that Americans came from other
places. The traditions and customs of a great many societies comprise today’s
American culture. Ethnic festivals help preserve the origins of many of these
societies."
Indeed, the original flair of this lively
music can be found in the Sauerkraut Band. The band encourages group
participation, much as one would experience in Germany. Schwartz says,
"The group participation is an important part of the performance. Getting
an entire group of strangers to sway to the music together or join in on one of
the toasts is part of the fun. In a sense, the music promotes organized
rowdiness with plenty of room for individual creativity and expression."
The music played by the Sauerkraut Band
features many of the old German favorites, including the Polka, Waltz and March
styles. Several of the other traditional folk dances such as Reinlander,
Schottisch, Landler, Schuplattler, and Zweifache are also frequently heard. The
Sauerkraut Band will perform from authentic German arrangements of these
traditional songs.
For further information, contact:
Ed Schwartz
Ed.Schartz@vt.edu
540.382.3707
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