Music and history buffs alike might be interested in attending a local concert that benefits the Athens County Historical Society & Museum.
The 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regimental Band and the Davis Men’s Choir will be performing a joint concert Sunday to raise funds for upcoming Civil War Exhibits at the museum.
The event is just one of several Civil War-themed events the Athens County Historical Society has organized during the past three years to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war, which lasted from 1861 to 1866. These events precede the annual Civil War Ball, which will be held later this month.
The concert, held at 3 p.m. at the First Christian Church on West State Street, will feature many musical renditions of popular songs of the Civil War Era. Admission is $10.
The band, which was formed in 2012 by John Huffman, a former music director from Waverly High School in Pike County, performs in the same outfits that members of the 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry would have worn, and plays on instruments that are from the time period of the 1850s and 60s.
The band attempts to accurately portray the sound that the original regiment band would have had, which is different from the type of sound that is commonly heard in similar bands today. It is the only band of its type in the state, Huffman said.
“I really fell in love with Civil War music fifteen years ago,” he said. “My goal was to join a Civil War Band, but there were none in the state of Ohio. It looked like, if I wanted to play in a Civil War Band, I would have to form one.”
The Davis Men’s Choir, formerly known as the D.M. Davis Male Voice Choir, is a community-based choir from Jackson, Ohio, made up of 38 members, according to their website. The choir performs in a variety of styles, including barbershop, glee club and gospel.
The choir’s director, Wilbur McCormick, said that this concert is important to the group because of some of the close personal ties some members of the choir have with the cause.
“We’re just happy to be in the concert,” he said. “We have some members who are involved in the Athens Historical Society, so we’re happy to be able to help out.”
The Civil War was a formative time in the growth of the Athens County area, said Athens County Historical Museum Curator Jessica Cyders.
Many soldiers from the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was made up entirely of members from Athens County, later went on to become vital members of the Athens community.
Charles Grosvenor, a Major General in the regiment later became the namesake for Grosvenor Hall on Ohio University’s West Green, and William Parker Johnson, another member of the regiment, went on to found the Ridges asylum to treat mental patients who were affected by the war.
“What I find interesting about the Civil War is the very personal stories involved,” Cyders said. “For the young soldiers who fought in the war, their experiences certainly defined their lives.”
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