OXFORD – The United States Military Academy Concert Band of West Point will perform a concert at the Oxford Academy High School, in the Performing Arts Auditorium, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. This very special performance, by one of the finest military concert bands in the world, was arranged by Oxford resident, Gene Rood, to kick-off the Village of Oxford Bicentennial Celebration.
Gene Rood is a professional engineer and the owner of Chenango Engineering. Prior to starting his firm, however, he worked at West Point as chief of master planning, chief of operations and management, and chief of environmental management. Gene has made arrangements with West Point to have the, 48-member, U.S. Military Academy Concert Band come to Oxford and play for the community.
Over the years, the United States Military Academy Concert Band has earned the reputation of being among the finest of its kind in the world. The band’s events annually attract thousands of visitors to the West Point academy to hear the finest in new and traditional concert band literature. The most popular of these events are the summer concerts at West Point’s Trophy Point Amphitheatre. Annual 4th of July performances at the ruins of Fort Putnam (on the grounds of West Point) began in 1817.
The Concert Band has a history marked with several world-class performances and close associations with renowned composers such as Percy Grainger and American composer and conductor Morton Gould. Gould’s 1952 contribution to the sesquicentennial of the United States Military Academy, Symphony for Band, commissioned by the Concert Band, still stands as a staple in the contemporary wind band repertoire.
Other Village of Oxford Bicentennial events and projects will take place throughout the year. Most events will occur in July, leading up to the main week of celebration, July 21-27, also known as “Old Home Week.”