The Wise Guys will be making its first appearance at the 2024 Gettysburg Brass Band Festival on Saturday, June 8th at 3:00 p.m. Founded in 2002, The Wise Guys began as a traditional brass ensemble, and when the University of Virgina at Wise began to offer a music major in 2007, the group narrowed its focus morphing into a tuba-euphonium ensemble. The group is open to anyone who plays tuba or euphonium performing repertoire that includes arrangements customized by its leader, Professor Rick Galyean, director of bands at the UVA-Wise.
The Wise Guys perform a broad variety of works, from pop to classical music and African American spirituals, at events ranging from weddings to Black History Month celebrations. They combine with the UV-Wise’s Bluegrass Band to play an annual fall concert “Brass and Grass.” The ensemble closes every concert with “Just a Bowl of Butter Beans.”
The Wise Guys were chosen along with 30+ other university ensembles to perform in Luxembourg for the Transatlantic Dialogue Conference in 2011, concertized in Paris with the UVA-Wise Bluegrass Band in 2014, and perform in Virginia, Kentucky, and northeastern Tennessee at schools, churches, and public events. Campus concerts include opening convocation, the Darden Honor Society induction, and Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.
Director Rick Galyean says “I am thrilled I am to be able to bring the group to Gettysburg. I have been to Gettysburg numerous times, and I am always telling the students about something new I experience every time I go.”
Free and open to the public, the Gettysburg Brass Band Festival was organized by the GBBF Steering Committee in partnership with the United Lutheran Seminary, Music Gettysburg! Concert Series, and Destination Gettysburg. Special kudos to the ULS for the use of the concert pavilion, our many volunteers and individual donors, and the Gettysburg Lions Club. Grant support was provided by the Robert C. Hoffman Charitable Trust, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Adams County Arts Council.
Visit the festival website at www.gettysburgbrassbandfestival.com for details about the five-day event.