100th Anniversary of the El Dorado Band

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor and recognize the 100th anniversary of the El Dorado Band.

The purpose of the El Dorado Municipal Band is to provide musical entertainment in the summer for the city of El Dorado and to provide the opportunity for musicians from high school age and above to perform. The band began as the El Dorado Boys Band in the early 1920s, and is one of the oldest municipal bands in Kansas. The band's first public home was a traditional round band shell at Gordy Park in the heart of El Dorado. Its current home is a permanent band shell at Forest Park, located at Ninth and Taylor. This outdoor brick and concrete performance space was constructed in 1939 through the Works Progress Administration, WPA.

The El Dorado Municipal Band celebrates 100 years of continuous performances with the 2022 summer concert season. Despite wars, natural disasters, pandemics, and other obstacles, the band continues to bring the young and old together, both on stage and in the audience. The band partners with veterans' organizations to celebrate Flag Day. It also holds old-fashioned ice cream socials and bake sales that help fund music scholarships to deserving youth at Butler Community College. The 2022 performance season will kick off with a director's concert, bringing back all of the surviving directors that have stood before the Municipal Band. It will also feature the world public premiere of ``El Dorado Fanfare,'' a music composition by Ed Huckeby commissioned to celebrate 100 years of music. In addition to local performances each Thursday, the Municipal Band has been invited to perform for the Kansas Bandmaster's Association as a featured ensemble.

I am honored to be from El Dorado and associated with this great band. I remember hearing the band play and have always enjoyed the time shared with my family listening to their music. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing this wonderful municipal band and congratulate them in celebrating 100 years of music.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source