Real old-time music comes back to Aurora Concert of colony music at Butteville Church March 25 Photo By Ray Hughey This closeup shows details of a schellenbaum or tree of bells, an instrument once played by members of the Aurora Old Colony Band in the 19th century.  By Ray Hughey The Aurora Colony Historical Society will present a concert of music once lost to the past on Sunday, March 25, at Butteville Community Church.    The New Aurora Colony Brass Band will perform the first concert of original music composed by the musicians of the Christian colony that settled Aurora 150 years ago. The “Bring Back the Music” concert featuring 12 or more pieces will be presented from 2 to 4 p.m. at the church at 10858 Arndt Road N.E.    The collection of handwritten music was discovered just two years ago, said museum curator Patrick Harris. It consists of four to five boxes of manuscripts from 1856 to the 1883.    Until then, only bits and pieces of colony music were available, snippets written for one instrument or another, but not the entire band. The modern-day members of the Aurora band tried writing the rest of the music themselves and as discovered later, were pretty much on target, Harris said.    The modern-day incarnation of the colony band is made up of 10 professional musicians, many sharing the Oregon Symphony background of the director, retired principal tuba John Keil Richards.    The members of the modern-day colony band play the same vintage instruments as the original band, including, cornets, horns in base, baritone and tenor and flutes and piccolos made of wood.    They also play some rare instruments no longer seen in today’s bands, such as a schellenbaum or tree of bells and an opheicleide, a forerunner to the saxophone with a big booming sound    The original Aurora Colony Band was considered a must at Fourth of Julys, graduations and other events, Harris said.    “It was a lot of oom-pah music, polkas and waltzes and things like that,” he said.    It had about 18 to 30 members, depending on if it was traveling. From the 1860s to the 1880s, the band played all over the Northwest.    It also had a string orchestra with about seven musicians and for the younger crowd, the pie and beer band that played local dances.    Colony founder William Keil was a music lover, Harris said. That was one of the characteristics they wanted to teach their children. Their music teacher was Henry Finck.    “Music was such an enormous part of the colony,” said Gail Robinson, project manager for the Oregon Music Project. “Children were expected to know at lease one instrument and probably more.”    The historical society has been working to preserve the vintage music as part of Oregon’s heritage. The project is supported in part by a grant from the State of Oregon’s Heritage Commission.    The historical society intends to have the vintage music in Oregon school and community bands in time for the state’s 150th birthday celebration.    Tickets for the concert are priced at $20 each. For reservations, call 503-678-5754 or e-mail info@auroracolonymuseum.com