Musical group bringing patriotic tunes to region gearing up for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, seeks community support | Allentown Area

SALISBURY TWP., Pa. – With America’s 250th anniversary celebrations ramping up, a local musical nonprofit is preparing for a busy year ahead.

69 News Reporter Sydney Kay was in Salisbury Township with how it’s in need of donations to keep the sounds of the American Revolution going at events.

Brandywine Colonials Fife & Drum Corps Co-Founder and Vice President Joshua Fink said the organization is dedicated to the education about and performance of military music from the Revolutionary War period.

The band wears the military uniforms from that time period as they play their patriotic tunes.

Fink said the organization gets together several times a month to practice. The band spends time going over the music and practicing marching and drilling.

The band performs in local parades, including an Armed Forces Day parade in Wyomissing this Saturday.

The group will perform at the Jerusalem Western Salisbury Church in Allentown for a Memorial Day event on May 25 at noon. The band will be part of a procession that goes around a cemetery at the church. At the event, people will place flowers on veterans’ graves.

35 Revolutionary War soldiers are buried at the cemetery. Three of those soldiers were musicians – two were drummers and one was a fifer.

The band will give five performances all around the Lehigh Valley on July 4. The group rents a tour bus so it can travel around the region for performances. 

Steve Meitzler, Founder and President of the organization, which is based in Topton, said more members have been joining recently, which means the nonprofit needs more uniforms and instruments.

The fife and drum corps has about 50 members right now, Meitzler said.

The organization is asking the community to help support it through donations. Anyone interested in donating to the nonprofit can go to its website and go to the “Donate” tab.

Meitzler said “it’s a matter of pride and nostalgia” to help preserve something that’s so important to the patriotic musical heritage of our country.

Anyone 14 and older can join the fife and drum corps.