Part 3

Stationed in the Capital the Army Band participates in all Army ceremonies. It is frequently called on to give its services to various celebrations and parades, for Washington is the most popular place in the country for parades. The Army Band expresses the Nation’s welcome by playing to greet visiting royalty, foreign diplomats and other prominent guests.

It is always present at the Cherry Blossom fete and the opening baseball game of the season when the President of the United States throws the first ball. There are also sad occasions such as the funeral of a United States President or some high-ranking government official. Then the Army Band marches slow, playing a funeral march with muted instruments and black-draped, muffled drums. And as a contrast, the U. S. Army Band, flashing its brilliantly polished instruments, marches and plays in Washington’s proudest ceremony, the impressive inaugural pageant.

The U.S.A. marching band, the Concert Band and the chorus are all popular with Washington people and these band units give their services generously. They give regular programs at the Walter Reed hospital and the various other Veterans’ institutions. In the summer the Army Band presents concerts at the Watergate--the floating stage on the Potomac at the foot of Constitution Avenue. The series of winter concerts are held in the Departmental Auditorium. Weekly, on summer evenings, the U.S.A. Band takes its turn--as do the other service bands--in playing for the enthusiastic crowds who gather in the plaza before the East Front of the Capitol.

The mission of the U.S.A. Band is to serve the Army and the people.

CAPTAIN HUGH J. CURRY

_Leader of U. S. Army Band_

Clear and sweet the tones of a boy’s soprano voice rang out in an age-old Christmas carol, while the class whole-heartedly joined in the chorus. The music period in that third grade school room was a pleasure shared by the pupils and their teacher. They all enjoyed singing with Hugh Curry. And _how_ Hugh liked to sing!

Music occupied a large place in the Curry home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was a great part of the regular family life. Both Mr. and Mrs. Curry were talented musicians. Hugh Curry, Sr., was a well-known amateur violinist as well as a popular singer.

Helen, the daughter of the family, made music her profession. She became the head of the Music Department of Teachers’ College at Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Hugh Curry, Jr., born in 1911, was reared in a fine musical atmosphere. From such a heritage and environment he naturally turned to music. He sang from his earliest years.

Soon the boy wanted to produce other music. Singing was really a part of him, but it was not enough to satisfy him. He begged to be allowed to play an instrument, and at the age of nine he began to study the trumpet. Then as his voice developed, vocal study was added to Hugh’s educational subjects.

Although devoted to music, Hugh was a good student and made outstanding records in his other, less showy studies. An all-round American boy, he was very fond of sports. No one ever dreamed of calling Hugh Curry a “sissy.” As a valuable member of the school’s baseball team and an ice hockey star, Hugh was extremely popular.

By the time he was ready to enter college Hugh Curry had won recognition as a professional musician in both vocal and instrumental fields. He enrolled at Boston University and his musical activities helped defray a large share of the expenses of his college education.

Curry was graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Music degree. Soon after his graduation, he married a college classmate, the former Kathleen Howard, prominent as a light opera singer. Curry began his professional career as an instructor in the U. S. Army School of Music. From the New York College of Music he was awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor of Music. He became increasingly active in Music Education and also achieved great success in light opera.

In 1941 Hugh Curry joined the United States Army. A thorough musician, a talented violinist and singer, as Chief Warrant Officer he was appointed Assistant Bandleader of the Army Band in North Africa. Curry worked with the Band all through the African-European tour to cheer and entertain the fighting men.

Captain Curry commented personally regarding this period. “While the United States Army Band was the only major service music organization to tour the combat area during World War II, it must be pointed out that such an experience and its unceasing companion, mental, physical, and spiritual discomforts seem glamorous to the men only in retrospect. The route of the Band through these areas was designed primarily to permit the organization to reach the maximum number of allied troops, and the needs of the Band were often sacrificed in order to bring our men a few moments of relaxation. In those hectic days of rapidly fluctuating battle lines, the Band, hampered by its necessary but unwieldy burden of instruments, was often exposed. Even in Antwerp, Belgium, an Army bandsman was wounded by a V-2 rocket bomb.”

When Bandleader Captain Darcy retired in September, 1945, he was succeeded by Captain Hugh Curry. A thorough reorganization was instituted. More new members were desired and applicants poured in from every part of the United States. All were carefully screened, not only in proficiency on their individual instruments, but also their adaptability to all types of music. Each was thoroughly tested, examined, auditioned and even his vocal ability was judged.

Finally Captain Curry enrolled more than one hundred of America’s finest bandsmen in the United States Army Band. They represent a large cross section of colleges, universities, symphony orchestras and many name dance bands, as well as almost every important American music school. Even the American Indian is represented by a full-blooded member of the Onondaga tribe. While at the very heart of the organization is a small and respected group of men remaining from the original “Pershing’s Own” Band.

Technicians, skilled arrangers and other necessary personnel have been added by Captain Curry to this perfectly balanced Army Band. Today, the United States Army Band under its handsome, dignified leader, is able to provide prompt and efficient response to the many demands laid upon it.

_The United States Army Air Forces Band_

The United States Army Air Forces needed a band. It had to be a good band too, one that would keep pace with--or better still--_lead_ the streamlined Air Forces.

In 1942 Warrant Officer Alf Heiberg was appointed to organize and lead the new band. At Bolling Field, Washington, D. C., the national Headquarters of the U. S. Army Air Force, Officer Heiberg found a saxophone quartette happily playing “on their own.” With this group for a nucleus he began to assemble his band. It was an easier job than Heiberg had anticipated for there were many experienced and outstanding musicians among the fliers who were eager to play, and an adequate number of men were soon enrolled. They were all enthusiastic and practiced so faithfully that in an unbelievably short time the United States Air Force had a good band, one that compared favorably with the other service bands.

A new leader was assigned in March, 1944, Captain George Sallade Howard. He was the ideal man for the job, a man with talent, training and ideas. A highly educated musician. Captain Howard at forty had spent half his years in music teaching and directing bands and orchestras. An inspiring conductor, Captain Howard also possessed many original ideas which soon began to produce unusual results in his work with this new band.

After two months of intensive practice the Air Force Band went on a concert tour throughout eastern Canada. It was acclaimed by the critics as the finest concert band ever heard.

Upon returning to Washington the Band played at a command performance at the White House. That the program was successful was evident, as the Air Force Band was immediately sent on an exchange tour of Great Britain which brought the RAF Central Band to America.

From their first program in Royal Albert Hall in London, the Air Force Band was praised in highest terms by the foremost English musicians. At that time Britain was living on extremely short food and fuel rations. Many concerts were played by the Bandsmen bundled up in their heavy overcoats, and at times, even wearing their hats and gloves.

On account of the cold weather, and the unheated buildings, the people in England generally had colds. Consequently the audiences coughed noisily during the concerts, but they were enthusiastic over the fine playing of the great Air Force Band from America. Frequent air raids and buzz bombs also interfered with concert programs. After the “Battle of the Bulge” Captain Howard and his band returned to the United States.

At the end of the war in 1945, this Air Force group was disbanded. However, the United States Army Air Forces could not do without their fine band. Captain Howard had established his reputation as an unusually capable conductor. He was transferred to the permanent Air Force with the rank of Major and given the duty of organizing a permanent Air Force Band.

Only five of the one-hundred-piece wartime band were willing to reenlist. Major Howard had to start his new organization from the very beginning. He had decided ideas regarding the possibilities of a large military band and he proceeded to put them in force. Determined to have only the best musicians, he used the utmost care in selecting the players. Fully 1,100 men applied for admission and each one was critically auditioned.

One hundred and fifteen players were selected--a rare group--so many were experts, men who had occupied top places in topmost organizations. Some had been graduated from outstanding universities, others had played in famous orchestras, symphonic and popular swing bands. One player had been a symphony concertmeister, and the famous baritone soloist, Glenn Darwin, came from the Metropolitan Opera Company.

For his first assistant Major Howard appointed Chief Warrant Officer John F. Yesulaitis, who was not only a graduate in music, but also had an extensive military experience. He had been a bandleader in World War II and in charge of the 7th and 77th Infantry division bands in the South and West Pacific. He is the most decorated member of the band having made every landing and taken part in every important campaign in the Pacific.

Robert L. Landers, the director of the band’s famous glee club, “The Singing Sergeants,” is an important member of the Major’s staff. He has a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, studied under Sir Thomas Beecham, Assistant Conductor of the San Carlo Opera Company, Leader of 529th Air Force Band at Atlantic City and also at Buckley Field in Denver.

These, and many other gifted artists, make up a splendid ensemble who are able at the same time to make their individual talents apparent. From this versatile organization, Colonel Howard--he was made a Lt. Colonel in 1949--can send out a marching band of one hundred or more men. He can choose eighty to ninety to form a symphonic band, seventy or as many as he likes for a concert orchestra. He has several dance bands, chamber music sextettes, and a well-balanced glee club.

A staff of music writers are kept at work making new arrangements, a well-trained narrator announces the program descriptions and reads the necessary script. And the maestro of this great band supervises the building of the programs which he rehearses and conducts for radio, concert stage and military duty. Besides these performances they average three concert tours a year, provide music for important military and state functions and represent the United States Air Force musically. The Air Force Band is usually in attendance when foreign diplomats or royalty happen to be in the Capital. During the summer military band concerts are given in various centers of Washington, and orchestra concerts are played during the winter in the Lisner auditorium. The concerts by the Air Force Band, as well as those by the other Service Bands, are free to the public.

Colonel Howard says, “We wanted a unit that was as streamlined as the Air Forces themselves.... We desired a band that could give a performance of _Scheherazade_ or _The Flying Dutchman_ comparable to that by any symphony orchestra, and in the next breath could rival Benny Goodman.”

In this they have succeeded.

LT. COLONEL GEORGE S. HOWARD

_Leader of the U.S.A. Air Force Band_

George Sallade Howard, son of Florence and Hayden Howard, was born February 24, 1903, in Reamstown, Pennsylvania. His father had been a soldier in the Spanish-American War and his Grandfather Howard a member of the Union Cavalry during the Civil War. George, the only son, liked to listen to his father’s thrilling war stories, and they had fought over the Spanish-American battles many times.

Although there was much music around the Howard home, young George Sallade Howard, the only child, didn’t want to be a musician. His mother was a professional pianist and Grandfather Sallade who lived with them was a former bandleader and clarinetist. But George would have no lessons from either of them.

But no one needed to tell Grandfather Sallade that George would some day be a great clarinet player, because he _knew_ it. He knew it by the way George listened to music and by the questions he asked about the clarinet. However no one urged the boy to study music until he was ready.

That time came when at the age of fifteen he entered high school and heard the school band. Rushing home the first day, he announced, “I’m going to be in the band, and I want to play the clarinet. Will you teach me, Grandfather?”

His music-loving family knew that home instruction was not always satisfactory, so they sent him to study under a local teacher. He had more questions than ever to ask his grandfather, but it was many years later when George realized how much help and encouragement he had received from him during his school band days.

From high school George went to Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, having won a three-year music scholarship there. Although his parents were well able to meet his college expenses, George earned all his spending money by playing in the Ithaca Theater Orchestra.

After receiving his degree from Ithaca, George started collecting more sheepskins. He studied at Ohio Wesleyan until he received his A.B. degree, then went on to Chicago Conservatory for his degree of Master of Music. His ambition still unsatisfied, he secured his Master’s degree at New York University and returned to Chicago Conservatory for his doctorate of music.

With all this extensive preparation and an armful of degrees, George Howard at the age of nineteen, began his career in Patrick Conway’s famous band. Five years later he was the clarinet soloist, a chair he held for two years.

Then he left the concert field to become an educator in the music field. He was asked to return to his first college, Ithaca, this time to teach clarinet and saxophone. From Ithaca he went to the second college he had attended, Ohio Wesleyan University, as instructor of wind pedagogy.

As George Howard’s reputation as a leader and teacher spread, he was in great demand. He accepted the job of Director of Music at the widely-known national home for young people maintained by the Moose Lodge in Mooseheart, Illinois. Here the Mooseheart Band under his direction won the Illinois state championship for four consecutive years.

From 1936 to 1942 Howard was Director of Music at Pennsylvania State Teachers College where they proudly tell about his achievements in their music department during that time. Reluctantly they released him “on leave” to the army.

His most satisfying experience came when he was sent to do special service for the United States Army in Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Labrador in 1942. He was given the rank of Captain and told that his job was to build up the morale of the soldiers stationed there. He traveled alone and found a new use for his talents and training.

To quote his own words, “I had always believed that music exerted a greater influence on people than any other type of culture, and this idea was fully verified when I took up my work on this assignment. There were these lonely men, stationed in isolated places, and with no entertainment during the long, sunless, winter hours. It was a fertile field for music’s spell, but it was very difficult at first to arouse their interest and cooperation.”

However Captain Howard’s wide experience had taught him how to make contact with many types of people. Genial, earnest and dynamic, he soon had an audience. He taught them to play on small, basic musical instruments such as the ukelele, harmonica and tonettes. The tonette is a midget clarinet that was very popular with U. S. troops the world over. He helped organize dance orchestras, military bands, and even “barber shop” quartettes.

“After a while,” continued the Captain, “music melted their hearts. Often six or seven hundred crowded into the room to sing together old songs and to learn new ones. Their faces, formerly dull and unresponsive, showed their pleasure and enjoyment. The talent of some of them surprised me. One soldier in Greenland made one of the finest-toned violins I have ever heard from a few strands of wire, some wood and a little glue.”

After Captain Howard had finished his assignment of setting up musical programs in the North Atlantic Command, he returned to Washington, D. C.

In March, 1944, he transferred from the Army to the Air Force as Commanding Officer and Conductor of the U. S. Air Force Band. He took the band on a tour of Eastern Canada and then overseas to England, Scotland and France.

When this unit was disbanded at the end of the war, Captain Howard had proven his outstanding qualities as a musical director. He was given the rank of major and a new assignment, that of establishing an Air Force Band on a permanent basis.

The Air Force had found in Major Howard the one person who could mold the kind of musical organization they wanted. Here was a young conductor of forty years, a recipient of five degrees in Music, who had a background of twenty years in the field of musical education. With his added experiences and achievements in both Army and Air Force music, Major Howard was a well-known man in the world of music. That made it easier for him to assemble a group of outstanding musicians for the new service band.

In 1949 the rank of Lt. Colonel was bestowed upon the Commandant of the now internationally known U. S. Air Force Band.

Colonel Howard is doing what most people would call a super-human job. When he was asked about his vacation, he said slowly, “Vacation. That is something I dream about.”

Colonel Howard rides horseback when he can. He likes to read fiction or to look at television or listen to his large collection of records in his bachelor apartment in Washington. Redecorating his apartment has grown to be a habit with the Colonel. Recently he has had three side walls painted a vivid dark blue and the fourth side a copper tone. The ceiling is white. The Colonel said, “This sounds startling, but it really isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

Colonel Howard’s medals are quite impressive. Among them are the Legion of Merit and the U. S. Army Commendation Ribbon with five oak leaf clusters.

He is the author of many magazine articles and of _Ten Minute Self-Instructor for Pocket Instruments_. Among his music compositions are: _The Red Feather_ (theme song for Community Chest), _American Doughboy_, _My Missouri_, _Niece of Uncle Sam_, and _General Spaatz March_.

Lt. Colonel George S. Howard, “Chief of Bands and Music and Conductor, U.S.A.F. Band and Orchestra,” has earned the respect and affection of his musicians and of his public.

_Concert Bands_

JOHN PHILIP SOUSA

John Philip and his gang plunged through the weeds and briars along the muddy bank of the Potomac!

“Come on! It’s a band on the avenue!” cried Philip, dashing ahead. “Let’s hurry!”

This was a common occurrence in those exciting days. The War between the States was just beginning, and Washington, D. C., the headquarters of the Union Army, was a thrilling place to be.

The boys were kept busy watching the many activities. They saw officers on horseback galloping importantly in all directions. They saw men working furiously building large frame barracks for the soldiers or huge corrals for the thousands of horses and mules.

And now Philip’s father, Antonio Sousa, had quit his place as trombone player in the Marine Band and joined the Navy to do his part in fighting the war.

Bands were playing everywhere, but Philip was so fond of music he never grew tired of hearing them. He couldn’t keep away from a band or keep his feet from stepping in time when he was near one. Every day Philip Sousa slipped out of the house and attached himself to the first line of blue-clad soldiers he could find. He ran alongside them until he found the band. Sometimes he followed them all day long.

During the next few years the young boy saw many unusual sights. He saw people gay over some battles and sad over others. And then one awful morning Philip awoke to find the streets filled with crowds weeping instead of laughing. He saw the Capital city draped in black and all the flags hanging down low. When he asked about this, he was told that the flags were at half-mast because President Lincoln had been shot.

It was at Lincoln’s funeral that Philip first realized how sad music could be. The mournful sound of the muffled drums and the solemn, minor strains of music played by the bands marching in the procession, touched his young heart.

But the war scene that made the deepest impression upon Philip was the grand parade of the victorious armies. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and countless bands marched in a procession so long that it took two days to pass the White House. Young as he was, the boy made up his mind that some day he would lead a marching band like these.

The war was ended. Antonio Sousa had come home and returned to his place in the Marine Band. The family went back to their normal way of living.

Antonio Sousa was of Portuguese parentage although he had been born in Spain. When a young man he had come to America, to New York City. He met and married Elizabeth Trinkhaus from Bavaria, who was visiting relatives in Brooklyn. The young couple went to live in Washington, D. C., and in a small brick house at 617 G Street, S.E. John Philip Sousa had been born. There he grew to manhood “in the shadow of the Capitol,” to use his own words.

The out-of-doors appealed to Philip; he liked to play with other boys and go hunting and fishing with his father. But above everything else the boy loved music. He was happy when he was allowed to visit the nearby Marine Barracks during rehearsals. The bandsmen liked him and often let him play the triangle or the cymbals.

When he was very young, Philip had begun to study the violin with an old Spanish friend of his father. Later he studied in an Academy of Music conducted by a son of his first teacher.

“I overheard the teacher ask my father to send me to his school,” said Sousa. “I was terribly insulted when he said, ‘Even if he doesn’t learn anything it will keep him off the street.’

“Although I neither answered a question asked by the teacher nor spoke a word in school, I learned all he taught. I won all the medals he offered in the examinations.... I have them yet, little gold lyres.”