BETHEL -The Bethel Historical Society will host the Yankee Brass Band at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 31 for a 90-minute concert on the grounds of the Dr. Moses Mason House.

The 26-member band gathers annually at Colby College and presents concerts with period music and Civil War era brass instruments at several locations around northern New England.

Band members come from throughout the nation and represent many walks of life, united in their love of and passion for brass-band music from the middle of the 19th century.

Many of them direct or perform with similar bands in their home town. Several members of the Yankee Brass Band were involved in the PBS Civil War series and the historic instruments appeared in the Civil War film “Glory.”

With its collection of antique instruments and authentic musical scores, the Yankee Brass Band provides the audience with an auditory, living-history experience they will long remember.

The quicksteps, gallops, polkas, mazurkas, schottisches, and waltzes, and the many overtures and medleys popular in the mid-19th century make up the program.

In case of rain, the event will move to the Congregational church.

sical event can make a tax deductible donation to the Society by mailing it to P.O. Box 12, Bethel, ME 04217.