If you have ever attended an Italian religious feast, or even an Italian festival in the Delaware Valley over the last several years, there is a good chance that the music that accompanied the festa was performed by the Verdi Band of Norristown. Pa.

Years ago, the Philadelphia area had many such bands, like the Banda Bianca, the Joseph Liuzzi South Philadelphia Italian Band, and many others. The Verdi Band is not only the sole survivor of this important piece of Italian- American history, but it is thriving and active, now in its 102nd consecutive year. Not even the recent pandemic stopped its music.