Dylan Keiser

Historic and Influential Composers

Glenn Cliffe Bainum

Cliffe Bainum was born in Olney, Illinois in 1888. He attended the University of Illinois

where he received a degree in English and engineering. He performed in the University of IL

band on the bass drum. He taught high school for just a year when he chose to take a director

position at the Southern Illinois Normal University. He completed his B.A. in music and went

on to directing groups at Grand Rapids public schools in Michigan, the bands of the

Northwestern University, and finally became the Chief of the United States Army Overseas

Music Branch responsible for music in European Theatre. He arranged many widely-performed

works for wind band such as Australian Up-Country Tune by Grainger, and was elected

president and honorary life-president of the American Bandmasters Association.

Herbert L. Clarke

Herbert Clarke was born in Woburn, MA in 1867. He was a self-taught cornet player

who became the best-known cornetist of his time. He played with an assortment of ensembles,

the most notable ones being Sousa’s band and Gilmore’s band. He created a new method of

diaphragmatic breathing which can be learned from his publication Technical Studies for the

Cornet.

Henry Fillmore

Henry Fillmore was born in Cincinnati, OH. He studied at the Military Institute and

briefly at the College of Music in Cincinnati. He worked with his father’s religious music

publishing house for a while before he became known for his work with the Syrian Temple

Shrine Band of Cincinnati. He eventually founded his own ensemble which gained fame through

radio. He was president of the American Bandmasters Association for a few years and

composed around 256 miniatures, and arranged around 774 other works.
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Historic and Influential Composers
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore

Patrick Gilmore was born in Ireland in 1829. He played the cornet in the Athlone

Amateur Band until he emigrated to the United States. He worked with a music publisher and

multiple bands until he started his own band aptly named the Gilmore Band. He organized awe-

inspiring concerts that utilized thousands of singers, instrumentalists, cannons, and more. These

absolutely humungous groups chiseled Gilmore’s fame into history. He composed a few

marches as well as some freedom songs pertaining to the end of the Civil War.

Edwin Franko Goldman

Edwin Goldman was born in Louisville, KY in 1878. He was enrolled in the National

Conservatory at the mere age of eight where he studied composition under Dvorak. His main

study, though, was the cornet. He performed with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra until he

formed his own band in 1911. He focused on playing a wide variety of repertoire and bringing

popularity to the wind band genre. He composed many marches (over 100) and wrote 3 books

on various music topics. His band continued performing under his name until 1979.

Albert Austin Harding

Albert Harding was born in Georgetown, IL in 1880. He initially self-taught himself the

cornet, but eventually also learned the fife, piccolo, baritone horn, trombone, and percussion. He

directed and played with bands around the Midwest of the United States for around 20 years

before he landed the director of bands position at the University of Illinois. He experimented

with the instrumentation of the wind band genre and wrote many of his own arrangements. He

taught conducting, arranging, and composition at the U of IL. He established the Midwest Clinic

that still exists today once a year. He was instrumental in establishing the College Band

Directors National Association.

 Dylan Keiser
Historic and Influential Composers
Karl L. King

Karl King was born in Paintersville, OH in 1891. He performed in many town and circus

bands before becoming a bandmaster of the Sells Floto-Buffalo Bill and Barnum & Bailey’s

Greatest Show on Earth bands (not at the same time, but consecutively). He made experimental

recordings with these groups. He then, for 38 years, become the leader of the Fort Dodge

Military Band. He was a founder of the American Band Masters Association and was named

honorary life president until 1967. He wrote many marches and school fight songs.

Arthur Pryor

Arthur Pryor was born in St Joseph, MO in 1870. His father began teaching him piano

and cornet by the age of six and later the valve trombone. By age 15, he was performing with his

father’s professional band and was known as a boy wonder. He eventually was offered a

position in the Sousa Band. He was a star attraction of the Sousa Band, and was considered the

“Paganini of the trombone.” He also was assistant director of the band until he left in 1903 to

form his own group. His band disassembled in 1933, but it did regroup from time to time for

concerts. He possibly directed the first ever commercially recorded wind band in history. He

wrote many pieces featuring the trombone, and really expanded the literature for solo

trombonists.

John Philip Sousa

John Sousa was home schooled at first, then attended public schools until he joined the

Esputa Conservatory of Music. He was enlisted in the US Marine Band at the age of 13. He left

the marine band at 20 years of age and continued playing the violin professionally. He

conducted groups all over the united states and his compositions began to be noted. In 1880, he

became the 14th conductor of the US Marine Band and shaped it to be the finest military band in
 Dylan Keiser
Historic and Influential Composers
America. He published many operettas and marches while leading the military band. He later

formed his own civilian band known as the Sousa Band. He made many tours with this band,

effectively shaping and changing the tastes and musical culture of the US. The band tours

tuckered out during the great depression, but had begun to give radio concerts to great

popularity. Sousa in his later years took an interest to educational music, and adjudicated at

festivals and contests. He eventually died of a heart attack; still doing music up until his time.

Sousa was effectively the father of the American music tradition with his ensembles and

compositions.