Ringgold Band concert to celebrate Reading’s 275th anniversary with free concert

The Ringgold Band will present a free concert in November at the Abraham Lincoln apartments in celebration of Reading’s 275th anniversary.

Based in Berks County, the Ringgold Band dates to 1852 and is one of the country’s oldest bands.

The band’s history is tied to the former Abraham Lincoln Hotel, now apartments, through famed conductor and composer John Philip Sousa, known as the March King.

Sousa was to be a guest conductor on March 6, 1932, for the Ringgold Band’s 80th Anniversary Concert.

The night before the concert he rehearsed his well-known march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” with the band and attended a banquet.

After the banquet Sousa, who was feeling tired, excused himself and went to his room at the hotel. He died of a heart attack during the night.

In tribute to Sousa and his connection to Reading, the Ringgold Band will play many of the March King’s pieces at the free concert.

The city’s yearlong anniversary observance, themed “Our Home, Our Heart,” kicked off the week of March 12.

Now the fourth largest city in the state, Reading was incorporated as a municipality on March 16, 1748.

The site — bounded on the west by the Schuylkill River, on the east by Mount Penn and on the south by the Neversink Mountain — was home to the native Lenape people prior to European settlement.

An industrial powerhouse in the mid-19th century, Reading was renowned for its namesake railroad, once the largest corporation in the world, and remains home to Carpenter Technology Corp., a Fortune 500 company.

The city also has been home to several literary and cultural figures, as well as minor league sports franchises and the 109-year-old Reading Symphony Orchestra.

The population of 95,112, as of the 2020 U.S. census, is made up of immigrants and generations of immigrants’ descendants, representing more than 45 nationalities.

If you go

What: Ringgold Band concert

Where: Abraham Lincoln apartments, 100 N. Fifth St.

When: Nov. 19, 3 p.m.

The concert is free and open to the public, thanks to Schuman Development Group, Abraham Lincoln Events and 275th Anniversary sponsors, Customers Bank, Penske, Carpenter Technology, Visions Federal Credit Union, Stevens and Lee Companies, Alvernia University, Tompkins Bank, Berks History Center and Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.

Source: Berkshire mont