City Trees

January/ February 2014

City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/232632

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 35 of 39

Meet the Arborators! by Chad Giblin, Research Fellow, University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources; Tuba and Bari Sax Player in The Arborators The Midway-Frogtown Arborators Band (www.arborators.org) out of Saint Paul, Minnesota is an Ethnic Brass Band comprised of arborists, nursery growers, scientists, and local urban forestry advocates. Instrumentation ranges from cornet, trombone, and tuba to flute, clarinet, tenor sax, and glockenspiel. We play without amplification and are fully portable. Inspired by the working-class bands of the early 20th century, "The Arborators" seek to promote and support urban and community forestry through music at local venues, Arbor Day celebrations, and gatherings of the arboricultural industry. Our musical repertoire consists mainly of ethnic dance music popularized by German, Czech, Bohemian, and 36 Hungarian immigrants to America. We also perform a few klezmer tunes, Russian Dance numbers, and American marches for good measure. I got interested in community bands in 2009 after finding some old photographs at my grandparents' house in Harmony, Minnesota. I found no less than four of my own blood relatives in the Harmony Concert Band. I was really inspired by the idea of ordinary folks (mostly farmers and laborers) coming together and making music for family, friends, and the community. I picked the "Arborators" name from a presentation by Dr. Rich Hauer of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He discussed the old English title of "arborator" as he found it in John Evelyn's book, Sylva, or a Discourse City Trees

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of City Trees - January/ February 2014