As it nears its historic 200-year anniversary, Williamsport’s Repasz Band plans to make good use of a $5,000 grant from the Williamsport Lycoming Competitive Grant Program at First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania (FCFP).
According to conductor Jeff Dent, the funds enabled Repasz to commission a special composition by Lycoming County native Jeremy Leidhecker.
“Our goal is a new work commissioned each year as we approach 200,” said Dent in a recent interview. For the first of those, it seemed a natural choice to go to Leidhecker — an award-winning 2005 Loyalsock High School graduate who has done composing, conducting and orchestration work all over the world.
“New music for concert band is always appreciated by musicians and audience members alike,” Dent added. “And creating a work specific to our band also helps celebrate our particular heritage.” The new piece will be performed at the annual Repasz spring concert on April 7, 2026.
FCFP describes its vision as “improving the qualify of life in north central Pennsylvania through community leadership, the promotion of philanthropy, the strengthening of nonprofit impact and the perpetual stewardship of charitable assets.”
In short, “FCFP strives to create powerful communities through passionate giving®.”
Founded in 1831, Repasz has a storied history that includes an 1865 performance at Appomattox when Lee surrendered to Grant — and in 2015, a reprise when the band was invited back to that site for the National Park Service’s sesquicentennial celebration.
Repasz also played during the Spanish-American War and in 1903 became the official band of the 12th Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard, marching for the inaugurations of Taft and Teddy Roosevelt. Also serving with the Navy in World War I, the ensemble has been honored with a historical marker near the Brandon Park bandshell in Williamsport; Repasz played at the shell’s 1913 dedication.
More recently, the late, great Albert J. Nacinovich served as the band’s longest-ever conductor (37 years) before retiring in 2019.
The all-volunteer ensemble currently plays a robust summer program, along with spring and winter concerts in Williamsport — as well as sponsoring the annual Liberty Band Festival, which draws players to Central PA from all over America.
Leidhecker — from a family of local musicians that includes his mother and father, Bobby and Aegina, along with his younger brother, Chris — has worked with dozens of concert bands and symphonies in such places as Phoenix, Spokane, Bulgaria, Detroit, Buffalo, Thailand, Toledo and Malaysia.
His compositions have been used by Disney, Hulu, Sirius, Dell, CBS and the NFL. With degrees from IUP, Messiah and Pulse College in Dublin, Leidhecker has received numerous honors — including awards from both the CINE and Transatlantyk film-score contests, as well as the Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Competition.
Concerning that new piece, Dent added, “We gathered ideas from our ‘200 Committee’ and discussed it at length. But the specific subject, content and background is not going to be revealed until we actually play it!”
Set for 7:30 p.m. at Williamsport’s Community Arts Center, the April 7 concert is free and open to the public.
More information is available at FCFPartnership.org and repaszband.org.
