The Eagles Band

This year, the Eagles Community Band celebrates Cornerstones of Concert Band Music playing repertoire composed by some of the most important composers in the last 100 years. Come hear John Philip Sousa, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland, Percy Grainger, William Schuman and, of course, John Williams.
Ron Barron, Principal Trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1975 to 2008 and resident of Berkshire County, will be featured trombone soloist. Mr. Barron has had a close relationship with the Eagles Community Band since 2012 when he joined the Eagles Trombone Ensemble.

About The Eagles Band
The Eagles Band was founded in 1936 and is the oldest continuing performance ensemble in the Berkshires. The band was originally sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #358, but traces its roots to the 390th Field Artillery Band (1918). The 390th disbanded in the late 1920s, since there was no longer a need for a Field Artillery in the Berkshires, and many of its members formed the Pittsfield American Legion Band, which begat a “renegade” group that started rehearsing at the Eagles Hall in 1936.

The FOE sponsorship ended when the Pittsfield Aerie folded in 1982. For 10 years, the band rehearsed without an official sponsor, moving from rehearsal space to rehearsal space and seeking co-sponsors for Music Performance Trust Fund money, as the band was a Musicians’ Union organization. Funding the band, attracting new members and finding rehearsal and storage space became increasingly difficult with each passing year.

The early activities of the band included performing at Williams College, which the Legion group did in 1935 and which the Eagles took over in 1936, although not under the Eagles name until 1939; many state FOE band and parade competition, in which our band took several “first prizes;” and concerts in all kinds of parks and events throughout the Berkshires.

Up until 1993, we were a “summers only” band. Also, many of our band’s musicians played send offs and welcomes for our WWII soldiers at Union Station. When the end of the war seemed imminent, our musicians would bring their axes to work with them, waiting for the official announcement. When Victory (Europe & Japan) came, our guys played and partied in the streets with the rest of the city.

In 1993, the Eagles Band reorganized and made a decision to become a non-profit community band, in which performers donated their time for the love of playing, and which opened up new possibilities for funding the band. Mayor Reilly proclaimed the Eagles Band “the official band of the City of Pittsfield,” the band fundraised for new uniforms, new music and equipment such as music stands and percussion. The summer “Concerts in the Park” series was resurrected and has been taking place at Springside Park since 1994. Conductors Lyndon Moors, Dana Swanson and Neil Freebern provided musical direction which increased the band’s popularity with audiences and increased the membership from 12 musicians to over 50.