2 families, Donatelli and Coppa, performed in popular local bands about a century ago

Front row, from left: Charles D’Amico, Mike Donatelli, Isodore DiLodovico, Casper Pilato, Pete Johnson, missing name, Sam DeLuca and Allen Briggs. Back row: Fortunato Sidari, Frank N. Monacelli, Joe Donatelli, Tony Acri, Horace Monacelli, Ralph DiGiiulio and Victor Penasack.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 20

Two bands, both of Italian descent, provided musical entertainment locally through the 1940s.

Brothers Mike and Joe Donatelli of Albion organized the Donatelli Band (or Donatelli’s Band) in 1912. Mike directed the band for over 25 years. The brothers operated a barber shop over what was then Landauer’s Store. The band played at weddings, local events and concerts, at the annual County Fair in Albion and on July 4th at Lakeside Park.

In the 1920s and 1930s, they entertained many music lovers who attended concerts hosted by the Sheret Post and the American Legion Post in Albion. Baritone, Fortunato Sidari was especially popular with audiences.

In Medina, the popular Coppa Family Band and Orchestra was formed in the late 1920s.

Joseph Coppa, the father, operated a shoe repair business on Main Street in Medina, but music was his true passion. He sold musical instruments at the store and also taught music.

He also provided musical instruction to his children and was an exacting taskmaster, as his son, Andy, recalled in an Oral History interview. Each of the Coppa children played in the family band: Andy, drums; Christine, piano; Mary, saxophone; Margaret, violin. Victoria, who played the trumpet, sadly died of tuberculosis at the age of 23 in 1943.

The Coppa Family Band played at carnivals and social events, old-time dances and square dances for which they were paid $5 to $7 per night. Andy recalled playing at Leo Foss’ Chicken Coop and Robinson’s Barn, where the dance was held in the hay loft, above the cow house. But the rustic venues did not seem to detract from the enjoyment, Andy recalled:

“Oh! Everybody had a grand time there. People brought box lunches and mixed them up, Whoever you danced with, you sat with and mingled and everybody had a grand time.”