OWEGO, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Students at Owego Free Academy are premiering a new piece of music written to honor a symbol of Owego Hose Team history.

Construction of the Steamer House building on North Avenue is getting underway this week and is expected to be completed by the middle of next month. Once completed, it will house the Owego Fire Department’s refurbished 1866 Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine.

To mark the occasion, OFA band commissioned a new work for its wind band by Endicott composer Chris Bill titled “Steampunk Guardian.”

Band Director Lindsey Williams says the piece will be performed for the first time at the Fall concert this evening.

“We’ve done a lot of research starting back in COVID about our band’s history and we found out through our Tioga County Historical Society that our fire department had a band back in the day, about 100 years ago, as did many fire departments. Since then, we’ve been trying to rekindle that relationship and become more visible in our community,” said Williams.

Money for the commission came from the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

The concert takes place at 7:30 tonight in the high school/middle school theater.

A celebration of the completed Steamer House, which will also hold a 1939 Sanford Hose Truck, is planned for next June.