School Band Association Research Articles

The University of Illinois Band Clinics 1930–1954

The purpose of this study was to trace the development and growth of the University of Illinois Band Clinics during their twenty-five-year history (1930–1954). Founded by A. Austin Harding, Director of Bands at the University of Illinois, the Band Clinics served as an important forum for the reading and performance of contest pieces and new band music during an important period in the development of the school band movement. The clinics also served as the National Band Clinics, sponsored by the National School Band Association, from 1932 until 1937. Throughout its history, the clinics expanded in scope and size to provide directors of all levels and notoriety the opportunity to gather on an annual basis to discuss current trends and teaching techniques that were important to the growth of the school band movement. Due to their success and popularity, the clinics served as an important event for the development of other band-specific conferences throughout the United States.

Bolsheviks and Big Brother: The Difficult Relationship between MENC and the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association

During the period of rapid growth in public school music in the United States between 1920 and 1950, music education associations were created in most states to coordinate activities and contests. (1) The Music Educators National Conference (MENC), (2) established in 1907, reached out to these organizations through its band, orchestra, and vocal contest divisions, and most of these state associations affiliated with the national organization; by 1946, MENC affiliates existed in forty-four of the forty-eight states. (3) As a result, the MENC became the umbrella group for music educators in most areas of the country; this was not true in Michigan, however, where barriers were erected between a significant portion of music teachers and the MENC, inhibiting unified advocacy and policy efforts. Mary Lynn Rampolla has suggested three reasons for historical research: 1) to understand how the present came to be; 2) to broaden current perspectives; and 3) to help shape the future. (4) Following these suggestions, this article will 1) outline the significant historical events that have defined the relationship between the MENC and the largest music education association in Michigan, the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) (5); 2) uncover the effects of that relationship on music education in the state; and 3) deepen our understanding of this complex relationship so that collaboration among the music education associations in Michigan (and in states with similar circumstances and conditions) may increase. Context: The Formation of State Associations in the Midwest The midwestern region of the United States was the geographical center of growth in school instrumental music, especially the states of Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan. (6) The band contest movement provided a strong impetus for this growth. Although band directors in all these states created associations to organize band contests during the 1920s and 1930s, each association's relationship with the MENC evolved differently. Paul Sanders cited Ohio as having the West in the establishment of school music, as Boston had led the East. By 1850, school music programs had been formed in Cincinnati, Columbus, Massilon, Oberlin, and Zanesville. (7) The Ohio School Band Association was founded in 1924 to help govern state band contests and was expanded in 1929 to include orchestral activities. (8) In 1932, the group changed its name to the Ohio Music Education Association and broadened the scope of its activity. (9) The organization affiliated with the MENC in 1934 and since then has governed most aspects of music education in the state, including scholastic music festivals. (10) Formed in 1920, the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) was the first organization for school bands in the United States, dedicated to expanding the number of bands through contests. (11) By 1930, Wisconsin held the largest instrumental music contests in the nation, and when the National School Band and Orchestra Association was formed in 1933, it borrowed extensively from the WSMA constitution, which had been written four years earlier. (12) While it remains the governing body for most school music activities in Wisconsin, the WSMA works closely on a host of issues and shares a common staff and office complex with the MENC state unit and the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music (a philanthropic enterprise that provides funding for state music events) at the Wisconsin Center for Music Education in Waunakee. (13) The Illinois School Band Association (ISBA) was organized in 1924 immediately after the first state band contest. (14) The ISBA continued to hold the contests until World War II travel restrictions prompted a suspension of the events. Following the war, the Illinois High School Association assumed control of the contests. The ISBA then became an advisory committee to the Illinois Music Educators Association (formed in 1939) and was eventually absorbed by that organization. …

History of the Illinois School Band Association: 1924–1941

Introduction The purpose of this study is to document the history of the Illinois School Band Association (ISBA) and the contests this organization sponsored between 1924-1941. It examines questions about the origin, leadership, rules and procedures, impact, growth, and decline of the organization. It also discusses how these findings can be used in modern practice. The school band contest movement began with the National School Band Tournament sponsored by the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce in Chicago on June 5-7, 1923. This event served as the impetus for state and national contests regulated by the National Bureau for the Advancement of Music and the Committee on Instrumental Affairs--an adjunct to the Music Supervisors' National Conference. The ISBA was established at the first Illinois State Contest, held in Joliet on May 10, 1924. Its purpose was to promote music education and operate future band contests in the state. As a result of its efforts, the quality and number of school bands increased dramatically and eventually thrived in large and small communities throughout Illinois. ISBA contests were held annually until 1938, when this organization began working cooperatively with the Illinois Orchestra and Vocal Associations to sponsor joint high school competitions and turned responsibility for grade school contests over to the Illinois Grade School Band Association. The ISBA continued to exist in the 1940s as an advisory committee to the Illinois Music Educators Association but was eventually absorbed by this organization. Illinois School Band Association: 1924-1941 Military and community bands began competing in the midwestern United States during the late nineteenth century. Some of the first contests were held in Portage, Wisconsin in 1876; Port Huron, Michigan in 1877; Chicago, Illinois in 1878; Peoria, Illinois in 1890; Edwardsville, Illinois in 1894; Arapahoe, Nebraska and Palatine, Illinois in 1896; and Ruggles Grove, Ohio in 1899. These competitions continued after 1900 and sometimes included school and juvenile bands as well. (1) Contests specifically for school bands originated around World War I when these ensembles began appearing in numerous public schools throughout the United States. These events were organized at the local and state levels, and were often held in conjunction with contests between other school music groups. Early examples include competitions established in 1914 at the AllState Music Contest in Kansas and in 1918 at the general high school music festival in North Dakota. (2) Similar events were also organized in Chicago, Illinois in 1919; (3) Michigan, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin in 1920; and in Iowa in 1923. (4) The Music Industries Chamber of Commerce sponsored the first nationwide school band contest on June 5-7, 1923 during their annual convention in Chicago. Known as the National School Band Tournament, this competition was divided into separate classifications for high school, grammar school, and military academy bands. Cash prizes totaling $6,000 were offered with a first place award of $1,000 in each class. Thirty bands (four grade school and twenty-six high school) competed. The tournament was held on a temporary bandstand erected in Grant Park across from the Congress Hotel. Each band performed a march and one other selection and was rated on tone, expression, intonation, and precision. Lieutenant William H. Santelmann, conductor of the United States Marine Band, was the only person hired to judge the competition, despite promotional materials advertising an adjudication panel of world-class bandmasters and musicians. First-place winners included the Joliet [Illinois] Grade School Band, under the direction of Guido Mattei, and the Fostoria [Ohio] High School Band, led by John W. Wainwright. (5) The intent of the 1923 School Band Tournament was simply to promote new markets for band instruments following a decline in sales after WWI. …

The Wisconsin School Music Association and Its Contests: The Early Years

Many factors contributed to the dramatic nationwide increase in instrumental music instruction in American public schools from approximately 1915 to 1935, a period commonly referred to as the school band movement era. Band contests, the instrument manufacturing industry, and a trend toward broadening school curricula all contributed to this development This study traces the history of the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) from its early days in 1920 through the height of school music contest activity in the early 1930s and up to the outbreak of World War II. In addition to being the first known association of and for school bands in this country, the WSMA sponsored for many years the largest school band tournaments in the United States. The WSMA also seems to have contributed a portion of its constitution to that of the National School Band Association and spearheaded the move from competitive ranking of bands to festival ratings—developments that have remained with the field to this day.

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association Clinic and Annual Meeting

National School Band Association Clinic and Annual Meeting

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association

National School Band Association