Comprised of WSO Brass and Percussion players and friends, The Williamsport Symphony Orchestra (WSO) Billtown Brass was organized in August 2000 when the WSO was requested to provide outdoor entertainment for an event. Cost, logistics and concerns about strings and woodwinds under the hot sun called for an answer that included a smaller ensemble (28 members), easy logistics (everyone except percussion is self-sufficient) and a group that can play in almost any weather conditions - a brass band in the style of the traditional British brass band. Since then the group has become a local favorite known for its eclectic programming which appeals to a broad audience.
     Repertoire is selected from British brass band standards as well as ballads, big band jazz, classical transcriptions, Broadway and Hollywood favorites, marches, and patriotic gems. Since that performance in September 2000 the WSO Billtown Brass has performed 2-3 times a year for concerts in the park, special events and holiday concerts. Highlights have included a feature performance with the WSO as the “guest artists” on a Pops concert, a joint performance with the Salvation Army New York Staff Band, and a performance at the Eagles Mere summer series.








Last year, for the first time, the Brass collaborated with the WIlliamsport Chamber Choir and Orchestra (WCCO) to present a gala "kickoff" of the holiday season at the Community Arts Center.







Richard Coulter, the ensemble's founding director, grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and was bitten by the brass band bug while in high school. After hearing the Salvation Army's Toronto Staff Band he joined a youth band sponsored by the Salvation Army in Pittsburgh. While studying trumpet and music education at Carnegie Mellon University he performed in the brass ensemble directed by the world renowned tubist Philip Catelinet (a protégé of England's famed composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams). The ensemble would regularly read through Catelinet's compositions that were destined to become the next year's brass band contest pieces in England. Coulter currently serves the Williamsport Area School District as Supervisor of the Essentials: Art, Drama, Dance, Music, Gifted, Health and Physical Education.

                                             More information is available at the WSO office - 570-322-0227