Music in the Air

           Certain sounds told you back in the day that it was a summer Sunday in the Village.

  One of those sounds was the sweet music of the Taunton City Band practicing at 199 School St.  Near the Block, two houses up from where Cynthia Luz Mendes lived on School Street, the house was owned by Arlene Rose Gouveia's grandfather. Arlene and her family lived in the house just behind the house where the band practiced.

The Band practiced in that building from 1923 to 1959!! Talk about Village history!  Later they practiced in other locations but we "owned" them for all those years. More to come on that later.Though not all the members were residents of the Village they were adopted by it, not least by Mr. Rose.  In a poignant sharing, Arlene told that when her grandfather was dying he insisted each Sunday morning that all the windows be open so that he could hear the music.

  In those days there were no loud, rancorous leaf blowers and such attacking ones eardrums. Only this wonderful music permeating our Sunday mornings.  Since none of us had air conditioning windows and doors were open to catch the breeze.  They caught the music as well.  I close my eyes and can hear it even now. Arlene put it well: the sound of music and the smell of baking bread from the bakery! Does not get better than that....

In 1923, the Taunton City Band was formed by the merging of two bands:
the St. Anthony Band and the Artista Band.

  The St. Anthony Band had practiced in the brick building on the opposite side of Thomas' Store on School St., the Artista on what later became Jigger's Variety.  The first leader was Arthur Souza (no relation to John Phillip or myself), a relative of the Vincent family on School St.  We think he led from 1923 to 1927.  John Gonsalves was leader at the age of 17 starting in 1927.

In his own right he was a brilliant musician who played the baritone and trombone. 

Director John Gonsalves was from Dighton Ave. in Taunton.

An online article by staff reporter Marc Larocque in the Taunton Daily Gazette Aug. 5, 2012, told of a concert being held in the memory of John B. Gonsalves, former conductor of the Band.  According to Lewis E. Perry, a Bridgewater resident presently the fifth conductor in the band's history, John  conducted  the band for 40 years until he retired in 1967.  He passed away in 1989.  That would mean that Mr. Gonsalves was maestro for the band that we all heard growing up.

Mr. Lewis says, in the same article, that he himself started in the band when he was a boy of 11 or 12 years of age. I have no doubt that the band was a tradition for many families. The Roses, for example, were fond of saying that there would always be a Rose in the band.  There were- until only recently.. Lewis E. Perry has been director since 1968, picking up after John Gonsalves. He played the trombone once and now "plays the baton" (another Gazette article: Aug. 27, 2012 by staff reporter Gerry Tuoti).

I have to give credit for this post, and also the next one, to Arlene Gouveia and her son John. They are true Village historians and keepers of the lore. Arlene interviewed current leader Lewis Perry whom we thank as well.

These photos are from Arlene. We have, unfortunately, neither dates nor names.  Perhaps, you can do more than name that tune....name some of these wonderful people?  No doubt John Gonsalves is in some or all of these photographs.

 These are a great piece of Taunton and Village history: the Taunton CIty Band still exists, after nearly a century of providing soul stirring music.  The heritage of the Band will be shared in the next post, there is a whole lot more to come!

                                 Until then, close your eyes, remember and tap those feet....hear them
                                        tuning up and then: bursting forth in perfect harmony.
 

This is a wonderful addendum, again thanks to Arlene because she has found identification for the above photograph.  I have copied her e-mail below.

Sandy,while I was going through my pictures of the Taunton City Band,I found some research I had done on the fourth picture of the band.As I remember, this was taken on the stage of the Brockton Veterans' Hospital after a benefit performance. Seated right to left: 1.Anthony Rose(my uncle)2.Aniibal Rezendes,3.Joseph Rose(my father),4.John Gonsalves(leader),5.Adelino De Mello,6.Manuel De Mello,7.Edwin De Mello,8.Unknown,9.Liberico Continho(nickname:Burky),10.Frank Enos.Standing left to right:11.Alfred Rose(my uncle),12.John Bettencourt(my friend,Nancy Brady's father),13.Donald De Mello,14.Gilbert Fernandes(Bridgewater),15.----Henricks(He was a great trombonist in the THS Band),16.Francis King,17.John Rebello,18.Alfred Furtado,19.Richard Enos,20.Louis Perry(current leader)21.Richard King,22.Joseph De Costa(not in uniform)He took care of the instruments.23.Ronnie Gordon(He lived on Purchase St.He loved that band.)24.John Burgess,25 .Edmond Camacho 26.Joseph Terrao,27. Joseph Homen,and28.Richard Ferreira. There is someone in the background that is unknown. 

               This is so precious, Arlene, and you are a true Village historian par excellence!
                We have given new life to this music!