New Jersey Fifes and Drums are a group of musicians who perform late 18th-century music that would have been performed by a military corps of music during the Revolutionary War.

Beyond their well-researched repertoire of colonial music, their uniforms are those that would have been worn by the musicians of the 2nd New Jersey Regiment. Four of the eight companies of this regiment were raised at the Trenton barracks in December of 1775. Comprised of professional musicians from the Trenton area, they have been organized and trained under the direction of Stephen Hudak, Andrew Wierzbowski, Timothy O’Connor, and Timothy Ross.

During the American Revolution, each company of a regiment provided a fifer and drummer to create a Fife and Drum Corps to represent the entire regiment. The Corps was comprised of 20 musicians. Chief among their duties were the playing of “calls” or “duties”, which are distinctive beatings accompanied by short tunes. A soldier’s entire day was dictated by calls, including those of reveille, assembly, and performing fatigue details. Calls were also used on the battlefield to direct loading weapons, firing, marching, and parlay to surrender. In addition to their signaling duties, musicians adapted many contemporary dance songs for the entertainment of soldiers, officers, and visiting dignitaries.

Due to their critical role in signaling the intentions of their commanders on the field of battle with distinctive calls or duties, the Fifes and Drums traditionally wore uniform coats comprised of THE REVERSE COLOR COMBINATION worn by the other solidiers in their regiment. A CONTINENTAL REGIMENT who wore uniform coats of blue with red facings, for example, would field musicians wearing RED COATS WITH BLUE FACINGS.

The New Jersey Fifes and Drums have provided well-researched and arranged 18th Century Military Music for over 15 years across the entire compass rose of New Jersey and surrounding areas. Including, but not limited to:

• Washington’s Crossing Visitors Center, PA

• Bucks County, PA

  • Brandywine Battlefield

• Philadelphia, PA

• Carlisle, PA

• Washington’s Crossing State Park, NJ

• Cedar Bridge Tavern, Barnegat, NJ

• East Jersey Olde Towne Village, Piscataway, NJ

• Paulus Hook, Jersey City, NJ

• Washington's Headquarters, Morristown, NJ

• Greenwich Cemetery, Greenwich, NJ (Warren County)

• New York, NY

• Washington, DC