Both a legendary composer and a musical institution will be celebrated this weekend at the 29th Annual R.B. Hall Day at Westbrook High School.

Twelve bands from around the state will gather to play marches in honor of Hall, a composer who “was considered to be the John Philip Sousa of Maine,” according to Jerry Brooks, director of the Westbrook City Band.

The event is held at a different venue every year. This year, Westbrook was chosen to host the bands, which come from Brewer to Biddeford, because it coincides with the Westbrook City Band’s 125th anniversary.

The bands will play all day Saturday, starting at 8:30 a.m. and finishing up with the Westbrook City Band’s performance at 6 p.m. Though the bands will play marches written by many different composers, a performance at noon will feature strictly songs written by Hall, and played by anyone who wants to join in.

According to program director Faith Varney, the bands range in size from 10 to 60 musicians or more, and the members range in age from their teens to their 90s.

Varney said there’s a certain culture associated with community bands, and that’s what draws people of all ages and from all parts of the state to play.

She said the 35 members of the Westbrook City Band come from Bridgton, Naples, Windham, Falmouth, Portland and Westbrook.

“Musicians travel,” Varney said. “People just go because they like to play.”

But according to Varney, being part of a community band isn’t just about the music.

“Musicians very much support each other,” she said, recalling a recent rehearsal where one of the band members who came had buried his wife the day before.

“When you’re concentrating on your music, you can’t think about the other things,” said Varney.

That culture keeps the bands strong through centuries – and keeps their directors going, too.

Brooks has been directing the Westbrook band for 25 years, and he’s only the fifth director in the past 80 years.

“We either die or quit,” he said.

The Westbrook City Band was originally composed mostly of workers at the S.D. Warren paper mill. Now, Brooks said, it’s made up of musicians with a variety of professional backgrounds, including teachers, nurses, businesspeople, engineers and accountants.

The band plays at least a dozen concerts every year all over Greater Portland. Its repertoire includes Dixieland selections, overtures, Broadway show tunes and marches, of course, including some by Hall.

Born in Bowdoinham in 1858, Hall lived most of his life in his home state and died in Portland in 1907. However, Brooks said, during his lifetime his marches were best known in Europe.

According to Varney, Hall named many of his marches after different groups in Maine, including two Maine newspapers – “The Sentinel,” after the Waterville daily, and “The Richmond Bee,” a paper that once served Sagadahoc County.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know who this man was,” Varney said, despite the fact they might recognize his music.

“The guy was a sensation,” said Brooks.

The Westbrook City Band is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and will host a dozen other bands at the 29th Annual R.B. Hall Day on Saturday at Westbrook High School.Composer R.B. Hall was “considered the John Philip Sousa of Maine,” said Jerry Brooks, director of the Westbrook City Band. “The guy was a sensation,” Brooks said.