Villnöß Wind Orchestra

Musikkapelle Villnöß: According to an entry in the Villnöss parish archives, a small brass band played at the consecration of the new parish church of St. Peter Villnöß on 21 September 1801. There are indications of its continued existence from various other entries, such as the purchase of instruments or the reception of the bishop. Church orchestrations were among the most important activities at that time, whereby the leadership of the band was usually incumbent on the respective organist or teacher. The First World War broke the band's back, as it did most others in Tyrol. In the interwar period, the chairman Alfons Grutsch and the eager bandmasters Johann Profanter (Plawatsch), Peter and Hans Vantsch (Jegg) managed to lead the band skilfully through the difficult fascist period with diplomacy and dedication. In 1928 the band adopted a kind of uniform (Tracht) consisting of long dark trousers, a brown skirt with green edging and a brown hat with eagle fuzz. During the Second World War, the band almost came to a standstill due to the many enlistments. The rebuilding after the war succeeded thanks to the great commitment of the priest Johann Terleth, the bandmaster Georg Vantsch (Jegg) and the chairman Peter Obexer (Schlatschner). In 1946 a new costume was created, which is still worn today. In 1953 the instruments were changed from the "high" to the "normal" tuning. Until 1965 the band was led by Josef Profanter (Ganoi). The further musical fate was in the hands of the bandmasters Heinrich Profanter (Graz/Albl), Hans Mantinger (Gufl/Neuhaus), Roman Profanter (master tailor) and Heinrich Pramsohler (Visell). Through consistent youth work and rehearsals under the leadership of bandmaster Toni Profanter, the orchestra experienced a new upswing in the 1980s, which became noticeable in the 1990s through various musical highlights. In 1987 the first recording was made - at that time still on vinyl - with the title "Festliche Fanfaren" (Festive Fanfares). In 1996, the second recording followed with the title "Around the World with Music". The third recording, entitled "Festive Concert for the Anniversary", was released for the 200th anniversary celebrations in 2001. Another highlight in the history of the Musikkapelle Villnöß can be considered the successful participation in the 4th Austrian Federal Wind Music Competition in September 1999 in Feldkirchen (Carinthia). The band achieved excellent results in both the brass band and marching assessment. Another milestone in the history of the association is the successful participation in the concert evaluation game in May 2010 in Vahrn, on the occasion of the 16th South Tyrolean Regional Music Festival of the VSM. The band won points in the highest level E. The absolute highlight in the history of the association so far is the victory at the wind orchestra competition of the ÖBV in level D at the beginning of October 2022 in Ossiach in Carinthia. The band prevailed among 8 participating bands from all over Austria and may now bear the coveted title of "Federal Winner".

Hans Pircher is the director of the Landesmusikschule Lienzer Talboden. After studying horn, church music, oboe and wind orchestra conducting at the conservatories in Bolzano and Innsbruck, he furthered his conducting training with Edgar Seipenbusch at the Tiroler Landeskonservatorium Innsbruck, Jan Cober at the Istituto Superiore Europeo Bandistico in Trento, Leipzig and at the Musikhochschule Maastricht/Tilburg as well as with Albert Schwarzmann and Herbert Böck at the Mozarteum Salzburg. After successful participations in international conducting competitions (WMC in Kerkrade), he won numerous brass music prizes with a wide variety of youth orchestras and amateur associations, including the Austrian Brass Music Prize 2014 in Feldkirchen with the Bürgerkapelle Brixen. Pircher conducted the Lienz Municipal Symphony Orchestra and other semi-professional orchestras, with whom he was able to compose numerous symphonic works. Chamber music compositions for violin, bassoon and piano and arrangements for wind music round off the versatile oeuvre of the master string and string instrument maker.