A brass band with instruments from the Civil War era. Songs that tell stories of Colorado, Woodland Park and Teller County. A bang-up concert presented by the Woodland Park Wind Symphony is a musical tribute to the past. And a vintage band is a bonus to the “City Above the Clouds” concert Sept. 27.

A collaboration of the wind symphony and Ute Pass Historical Society, the concert honors those who contributed to the vibrancy of those times so long ago.

“We’ll have meaningful selections that have to do with Colorado history, and the state’s 150^th anniversary, of Pikes Peak, Cripple Creek,” said Craig Harms, founder and director of the symphony.  

Bev Harms, public relations for the symphony, added, “The music is very colorful with lots of complex rhythms, of the influences on America by the Spaniards, the French and the miners.”

Mike Bryant, public relations for the historical society, offers a sneak preview of the performance.

“Our local historian, Steve Plutt, has discovered that an influential composer lived here in Woodland Park briefly and wrote one of his most important pieces here,” Bryant said. “He mentored no less than George Gershwin, who called the song an important first step in the development of jazz.”

Harms learned of the connection only recently.

“Craig Harms was so excited to hear this, he’s figuring out a way to use it in the concert with only a few weeks to go,” Byrant said.

For the vintage band, Harms found a collector of the instruments played during the Civil War.

“We want to put a historical perspective on things,” he said.  

The instruments point over the shoulder in the opposite direction of the musicians, a pertinent fact for the time, Harms said.

“During the Civil War when soldiers marched down the road, the band was in front to announce their coming,” Harms said, adding that the band would be dressed in the appropriate attire.

During the concert, the historical society will host a booth of historical displays, books and items from the shop in Woodland Park.

The “City Above the Clouds” concert is at 4 p.m. Aug. 27 in the Dickson Auditorium at the Woodland Park High School. The doors open at 3:30 p.m. Admission is free and donations are welcome. The donations benefit the historical society.

For information, check woodlandparkwindsymphony.com.