Description

You might wake up to an alarm or know when to change classes during school by a bell. In those moments you’re being told what to do by sounds, much like Civil War soldiers. Tunes played by buglers told soldiers when to wake-up, when to eat, and were the figurative megaphones for commanders trying to give orders to hundreds of soldiers. In this session, you’ll hear Civil War bugle tunes and learn the history of the bugle’s importance by seeing the instruments and uniforms used by field musicians, listening to the calls that regulated Army life, and create functional meaning for musical sounds they make themselves! This class was a part of The Castle’s All Ages Virtual History Camp: United & Divided: 1860 – 1870s.

Provider: John Connors, Military Musician and Music Historian – Readiness NCO, 122nd Army Band – Freelance Civil War Field Musician

A native of northeastern Ohio, John Connors has been in the Ohio Army National Guard since 2007 and serves full-time as the Readiness NCO and as a trombone player with the 122nd Army Band of Columbus. Earlier in his military career, he performed the solemn duties of Funeral Honors bugler, sounding Taps hundreds of times each year. Through further research in an effort to understand the history and significance of his role as a true Army bugler, Connors’ area of expertise became that of the Civil War bugler. He is in demand to give lectures and demonstrations on the topic of bugling in the Civil War and at many events around the country as a bugler for the Liberty Rifles, 1st Section Horse-drawn Artillery, and others. As a bugler, fifer, or brass band musician, John has performed with the Camp Chase Fifes and Drums; the 6th Ohio Mounted Buglers and 2nd Cavalry Brigade Band; and the 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment Band to bring music of the period to audiences across the region. Connors graduated in 2019 with a Master of Music degree (with licensure) in Music Education from the University of Akron. He is also a 2014 graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, where he earned a Master of Music degree in Trombone Performance. Prior to that, he received a Bachelor of Music degree, magna cum laude, in Trombone Performance from Ohio University in Athens.

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