June 22, 2014 - St. Joseph-St. Patrick Feast of the Corpus Christi

The West Utica parish of St. Joseph/St. Patrick’s Church celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi, which recognizes the Catholic Creed that the Holy Communion Host is the “Body of Christ” as ordained by Jesus at the Last Supper – “This is my Body”.

The Red Band lined up at the foot of the Church Steps ready for the Procession to begin at the end of the 10:30 Mass.

As the Altar Boys, the Priest, and the parishioners exited the church we played the Marcia Reale.

The Priest was holding the gold Sunburst Monstrance containing the Host. A Canopy called a Baldaccino was carried over the Priest.

We followed the Procession around the block ending at the outdoor Shrine of St. Marianne Cope.

We played the hymns “Tantum Ergo” and “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”. The Priest gave the Benediction and the parishioners recited the Beatitudes – and the service was ended.

For more photos please click on

Feast of the Corpus Christi

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!!

June 14, 2014 - Dolgeville Violet Festival Parade

The foul weather system that soaked us the night before was long gone in time for the 10:00am Dolgeville Violet Festival Parade.

This year we were placed in division two. As we marched past the other divisions, we were warmly greeted by several high school bands. They listened to us and applauded in an appreciation that all musicians have for each other.

But this does not take away from the wonderful reception we receive from the large crowd of spectators that line both sides of the street for the entire length of the parade route.

Once again the reviewing stand announcer mentioned that a citizen of Dolgeville – our clarinetist, Lenore Gabriel, was marching with us as a proud member of La Banda Rossa.

For more photos please click on

Dolgeville Violet Festival

VIVA THE VIOLET FESTIVAL!!!

VIVA LA BANDA ROSSA!!!

June 13, 2014 - Deerfield Field Days Parade

To declare the Red Band’s performance in Deerfield a “washout” would be an understatement!

The rain began a 30 minutes before the start of the parade and only intensified throughout the march.

We led the parade – there was no color guard, no politicians or dignitaries, and the few spectators along the route were huddled together clinging to their umbrellas for dear life.

For the superstitious in attendance, it was a strong confirmation that it is very inadvisable to plan a parade on the night of the Full Moon when it falls on a Friday the 13^th.

We marched as quickly as possible down the hill, dodged the deepest puddles on the flooded field and gained safe-haven in the fire-station garage.

We played a few marches for the audience cowering in the food pavilion across the lot as the few marchers ended the parade.

The drenching rain continued as we left - all of us soaked to the skin, red ties bleeding into our white shirts. YUK!

For more photos please click on

Deefield Field Days

June 7-8, 2014 - St. Anthony Feast - Utica, NY

For the Red Band, the weekend of the Feast of St. Anthony is a 3-part event.

The first event is on Saturday evening. We performed a concert under a large tent setup near the food and beverage pavilion. With the summer-like weather the crowd was in a festive mood and we were well received as we played a program of marches, polkas, and all-time Italian favorites. The audience sang along while enjoying their pizza fritte, beer, and wine until the Feast ended at 10pm.

On Sunday morning the Band assembled at the Church steps playing Marcia Reale to greet the Statue of St. Anthony as he was carried out of the Church. After playing the Hymn to St. Anthony we performed a few traditional Italian marches as people arrived for Mass.

After Mass, La Banda Rossa followed the Statue and a group of parishioners on the Grand Procession in a big loop of the immediate neighborhood. We stopped at every house that displayed a poster or Statue of St. Anthony and honored them with Marcie Reale – a tradition that has been carried on for as long as any of us present can remember.

For more photos please click on 

St. Anthony Concert
St. Anthony Procession

VIVA the Feast of San Antonio!!!

VIVA La Banda Rossa!!!