Bloomington From the 19 th Century to the Present Gary Wiggins Monroe County History Center November 17 2011 Overview of the Talk Characteristics of community bands Origins of community bands ID: 1010821
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1. Community Concert Bands in Bloomington (From the 19th Century to the Present)Gary WigginsMonroe County History CenterNovember 17, 2011
2. Overview of the TalkCharacteristics of community bandsOrigins of community bandsThe Sewards and the early history of community bands in BloomingtonNewell Long and the current Bloomington Community BandFunding of Community BandsBloomington Brass Band (if time permits)
3. What is a community concert band?Community-based ensemble of wind (woodwind and brass) and percussion playersOften bears the name of the town in which they play (and may be sponsored by it)Some sponsored by companies, clubs, etc.~625 company musical units in 1929Perfect Circle Band (Hagerstown, IN)Detroit Diesel Allison Band (Indianapolis, IN)Lions Club Band (Urbana, IL)Louisville Shriners Band
4. Recent DevelopmentCommunity band affiliation with an academic institutionRecent conversation with IVY Tech
5. Number of Community Bands in the United StatesEstimated 10,000 bands in the US in 1889Perhaps 2,500 community bands today in the US
6. Motivation to Play in a Community BandMembers not motivated by financial gain or academic scholarshipSome bands pay their musicians and attract professional musiciansMusicians play largely for enjoyment rather than as a professionAmateur performers, making music for pure enjoyment--true hallmark of the community band
7. Factors Influencing Participation in a Community Band: Cavitt, 2005Surveyed 401 members in Texas, Michigan, and CaliforniaTypical member is over 35 years oldCollege-educated professionalEarns a middle incomeLives in the suburbsEnjoyment, fun, and social interactionThe music they play is the most enjoyable aspect of being in the band
8. Typical ProgramOpen with the national anthemMay have individual band member stand for a solo in the midst of a pieceMay feature a group or section out frontRepertoire includes:original wind compositionsarranged classical itemslight musicpopular tunesmarchesoften mix of various genres on a single programPlays to audiences of various socio-economic strata
9. Origins, Flowering, Decline, and Rejuvenation of Community BandsTurkish bands: percussion instrumentsMilitia or Military BandsUS Marine Band formed in 1798German Moravians in Pennsylvania, NC, and elsewhere19th C. developments in instrumentationWar times tended to increase their popularityAfter WWI, popularity declinedReplaced by school music programsPool of amateur musicians feed into community bandsLate 20th C. Revival of community band interest
10. John Philip Sousa, 1870-1942
11. Touring Professional BandsGolden Age of Bands: late 19th – early 20th century (~1880 - ~1920)Gilmore, Sousa, and Pryor BandsPatrick S. Gilmore (1829-1882) – Father of the American Band (1858)“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)Arthur W. Pryor (1870-1942)Fred A. Jewell (1875-1936)
12. Austin Seward, 1797-1872Organized the first band in Bloomington“Vulcanus Allheart”Blacksmith who created the courthouse fishLearned to play flute from Baynard Rush HallWith Prof. E. Elliot, organized the first band at IU (?) sometime after 1833Uncertainty about start date of IU bandMany Sewards in Bloomington town bands
13. Earliest Bands in BloomingtonNameConductor(s)BeganSeward Band 1John Seward1838Seward Band 2John Seward1843Silver BandJames Seward1850Mechanics Band 1Charles Voss/William H. Seward1869
14. Concert of September 28, 1847Duke of Holstein’s MarchSweet is the ValeUnionMarch from NormaWashington’s Grand MarchTrenton MarchSource: Letter of April 12, 1950 from Oscar Burlap, read in the “Band” folder at the IU Archives
15. W. B. Seward, Conductor, 1865
16. Late 19th Century Bloomington BandsNameConductorBeganEmpire BandJohn Mack~1875Mechanics Band 2William H. Seward1886Opery House Band?????? (co-existed with the Mechanics Band for a whileHoosier Charm BandJohn Marlin~1891small bandWilliam Pace1898 (formed while the 1st Regiment Band was away)
17. City Cornet Band, 1879
18. Bloomington Mechanics Band, 1886
19. Hoosier Charm Band, 1891
20. Bloomington Town Band, 1911
21. Thursday Band Nights, 1886-???Began with the Mechanics Band in 1886Led by William H. Seward, 1886-1898Concerts from permanent bandstand in SW corner of courthouse yardLater portable bandstand moved in rotation to each corner of the square
22. Third Street Park Bandshell Dedication , August 22, 1928March: The Kentucky DerbyNovelette: Moonlight in FloridaWaltz song: Laugh, Clown, LaughMedley: Victor Hugo’s FavoritesFox Trot: Who Wouldn’t Be BlueWaltzes: RoselandFox Trot: Old Man SunshineMarch: Chicago Marine BandThe Star Spangled Banner
23. 20th-Century Bloomington BandsNameConductor(s)BeganBloomington City Band??? Waterbury/Wylie Cathcart/Archie Warner/Charles Cosner/Alva Hughes/~1901Bloomington Town BandHenry (“Harry”) O. Crigler1919 - ~1941 (definitely gone by 1949)Bloomington Civic BandCarl Frye~1953 - ~ 1963Bloomington BandAl Olson/???1966 - ~1970Bloomington Community BandNewell Long/Tim Moore/Joe Car1978 -
24. Newell H. LongFeb 12, 1905 – Jan 4, 1999Conductor, BHS Band, 1935-39Conductor, University School Band, 1939-43IU School of Music, 1935-Associate Conductor of BandsChairman, Undergraduate Division, Music Education DepartmentAssistant DeanFounding Director, Bloomington Community Band, 1978-97Fellow, Phi Beta Mu National Bandmasters Hall of Fame, 1977Indiana Music Educators Association Hoosier Musician of the Year, 1985
25. Newell & Eleanor’s Musical Skits
26. From Newell and EleanorThe more we team together, together, together,The more we team together, the stronger we’ll be.This ending is choral,But it has a moral:When people work togetherThey taste victory. Source: Final chorus in “The Music Hater” An Instant Opera in One Act by Newell and Eleanor Long.
27. Earliest Photo of Today’s BCB
28. Newell Long at 3rd St. Park Bandstand Dedication, 1993
29. BCB at Courthouse, ~1995
30. Guest Conductors of the BCBStephen W. Pratt (2009)Gary R. Wishmeyer (2010)Craig Paré (2011)
31. BCB at 3rd Street Park, 6/23/11
32. Musicianship WorkshopsEugene Rousseau, Dominic Spera, Carl Lenthe (2009)Thomas Walsh, Howard Klug, Gary Gray, Edmund Cord, Mark Woodring, Richard Seraphinoff, Kevin Bobo, Wilber England, Norman Hanson, Maria Harman, Will Petersen, Peter Brockman, Selena Yamamoto, Guy Hardy (pro bono) (2010-2011)
33. Venues for the Bloomington Community BandAbout 20 concerts per year in Bloomington and surrounding areasArts fairsCivic events (parades, dedications, etc.)Retirement HomesCollege MallCity and State Parks
34. BCB at McCormick’s Creek State Park, July 16, 2011
35. BCB at Spring Mill State Park August 20, 2011
36. 2010 BCB AwardsBe More Award for Arts and Cultural Organizations (Bloomington Volunteer Network)Cassady Electric Volunteer of the Year Award (Downtown Bloomington, Inc.)Jointly with the Bloomington Brass Band
37. Brass BandsAlmost always associated with factories or industry in Britain and EuropeSynonymous with “Silver Band”?No trumpets or French hornsUsually 27-29 membersHighly competitive
38. Bloomington Brass BandFormed ~1983 by David Whitt, initially as an unofficial IU groupOther conductors, 1986-90: David Pickett, Ran Whittle, Jeff WestphalAl Olson then took over as conductorPlays ~ 20 concerts per year with all kinds of music, not just Brass Band musicSome BCB members play with the BBBAverage size of the band: ~20-22 members
39. Funding of the BCB in the 1890s“Organized ten years ago, in all that time, the only outside aid it has ever had is the sum of $50 which the city council appropriated to assist in building the band stand.” (Bloomington World, 24 June 1896)Restaurant in a baggage car on the Monon to Chicago to raise money for music.
40. Funding of the BCB, 1890s -1920sWeekly contributions from downtown businesses in the early daysAmounted to $20 to $25 a week (Fred A. Seward) Council Votes $500 to Band: 1920“A good band is always a strong factor in the uplift of a community, and it should be supported by general taxation instead of by a few professional and business men.” (Bloomington Daily Telephone, 22 September 1920)Support from a small property tax and the Community Chest: 1940 (Fred A. Seward)
41. Recent Funding Crises Among Community Bands“Lack of Funding Threatens Community Bands” –ABC News August 1, 2010Adrian City (MI) Band: city cut $7,530Decatur, IL: funding reduced $15,000St. Cloud, MN: reduced from $40K to $15KResults of widespread funding cuts:Fewer showsMusicians playing for freeBands have to raise money or seek business partnerships
42. Recent Funding of the BCBLowes Hot Dog StandDues: $25 instituted in 2009Member donations for rehearsal spaceIndiana Arts Commission grants, 2009-12 Musicianship workshopsLarge and small donationsIn-kind donations (rehearsal space and library storage)Community Foundation EndowmentBloomington Community Band Fund: $10,000Matchstick Initiative 2012: $47,500 goal
43. Newell Long Conductors Cup
44. Candidate for Conductor
45. Parting Thought . . .It is difficult to trust anyone whose instrument changes shape as he plays it!!!
46. Bibliography: BloomingtonDuncan, H. C. “Austin Seward.” Indiana Magazine of History, v. 4, no. 3, September 1908, pp. 103-116. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27785168 (accessed 3 Nov 2011)Mathiesen, Penelope. “The Sewards and Bloomington Bands.” Monroe County Historian, October 2008, pp. 5-6. http://www.monroehistory.org/about_us/oct_2008.pdfReed, Bennett P. “Bloomington Band of 1911.” Bloomington Daily Herald, 1949?. (Our Bloomington of Yesteryear, no. 26)Sanders, Chauncey. “The Development of Indiana’s ‘Marching Hundred’ Since 1896.” Indiana Alumni Magazine, v. 2, November 1939, pp. 12-15, 30. Seward, Fred A. [Paper on town bands in Bloomington read before the Monroe County Historical Society, Jan 11, 1940] http://cwcfamily.org/sewband1.htm (summary)http://bloomingtoncommunityband.net/about/history/other-articles-and-web-sites-with-information-on-the-bcb-and-its-predecessors/fred-seward-paper-mchs-january-11-1940/ (full text)Wiggins, Gary. “History of the Bloomington Community Band.” Monroe County Historian, August 2011, pp. 4, 7. http://www.monroehistory.org/about_us/august_2011.pdf“Bloomington Bands: Something About the Tooters of Long Ago.” Bloomington World, 24 June 1896. http://cwcfamily.org/sewband1.htmBloomington Community Band History Web Pages. http://bloomingtoncommunityband.net/about/history/
47. Bibliography: GeneralBerry, Lemuel. “A Programmatic Approach Towards Organizing a Brass or Community Band.” Woodwind, Brass, & Percussion, v. 21 no. 7, November 1982, pp. 6-9.Cavitt, Mary Ellen. “Factors Influencing Participation in Community Bands.” Journal of Band Research, v. 41, no. 1, Fall 2005, pp. 42-59.Hansen, Richard K. The American Wind Band: A Cultural History. Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc., 2005.Hartz, James Michael. The American Community Band: History and Development. MA Thesis, Marshall University, 2003. http://www.marshall.edu/etd/masters/hartz-jason-2003-ma.pdf (accessed 3 Nov 2011)LeCroy, Hoyt F. “Community-Based Music Education: Industrial Bands in the American South.” Journal of Research in Music Education, v. 46, no. 2, 1998, 248-264.Schmidt-Jones, Catherine. “A Short History of Wind Bands.” Connexions http://cnx.org/content/m14566/latest/ (accessed 3 Nov 2011)Unze, David. “Lack of Funding Threatens Community Bands.” ABC News August 1, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/lack-funding-threatens-community-bands/story?id=11287901 (accessed 3 Nov 2011)“Community Band.” eNotes http://www.enotes.com/topic/Community_band (accessed 3 Nov 2011)“Is There a Strong Future for Community Bands?” Creeva’s World 2.0, August 23, 2008. http://creeva.com/2008/08/23/is-there-a-strong-future-for-community-bands/ (accessed 8 November 2011)
48. Professional Organizations & Sources of MusicAssociation of Concert Bandshttp://www.acbands.org/National Band Associationhttp://www.nationalbandassociation.org/North American Brass Band Associationhttp://www.nabba.org/Chatfield Brass Band & Music Lending Libraryhttp://chatfieldband.lib.mn.us/Band Music PDF Library (Golden Age)http://www.bandmusicpdf.org/Arkansas Valley Wind & Percussion Ensemble http://opac.libraryworld.com/opac/home