Illinois Brass Band to perform Saturday in Elgin

On Saturday, the Illinois Brass Band will perform "The American Experience" at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 256 E. Chicago St., Elgin. This concert is sponsored by the Elgin Area Historical Society.

The band will be performing favorites such as "Fanfare for the Common Man" by Copland, "Dunlap's Creek" by Bernat, and a series of historic Elgin Watch Factory Band pieces.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are available either at the door or at the Old Main Museum, 360 Park St., Elgin. For details, visit www.illinoisbrassband.org.

The band, formed in 1991 in the tradition of British brass bands, has won the North American Brass Band Association Championships six times since 1996, and is the only band to have won the championship three times in a row, twice.

Band members include volunteer musicians from the greater Chicago area and they maintain an active concert schedule, performing 15 to 20 concerts per year.

The Illinois Brass Band is conducted by Ryan Nelson, associate director of bands at Northwestern University, where he conducts the symphonic band.

He is also the music director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble and resident music director for the Musical Theatre Program. In addition to conducting the Illinois Brass Band, Nelson is music director for productions at the American Musical Theatre Project and the Marriott Theatre and has conducted groups from across the United States.