Research Guides: Band Collections in Special Collections in Performing Arts: ABA Personal Papers

About the American Bandmasters Association

Formed in 1929 "for the purpose of furthering the interests of outstanding American Band Masters, and of interesting composers, arrangers, and music publishers in Wind Band music," the American Bandmasters Association (ABA) continues to champion the causes of American bands and bandmasters today. Its members' accomplishments include the election of John Philip Sousa to the Hall of Fame of Great Americans, the publication of the Journal of Band Research, and the establishment of several awards and prizes, including the Ostwald Band Composition Contest and the Edwin Franko Goldman Memorial Citation.

The current membership (invitational) comprises approximately 300 band conductors and composers in the USA and Canada, and 70 Associate Members (music businesses and corporations that provide significant services to bands and to the publication of band music.)

About the American Bandmasters Association Research Center

The American Bandmasters Association Research Center was brought to the University of Maryland at College Park on June 3, 1963, as the result of an agreement between the American Bandmasters Association (ABA) and the University of Maryland to jointly sponsor an agency that would provide a repository and clearing house for materials and information concerning the history and development of the wind band.

Now managed by Special Collections in Performing Arts, The ABA Research Center holds the papers and collections of several ABA members, as well as the archives of the ABA itself. In addition, the ABA Research Center has a large number of band scores, photographs, and recordings.

Personal Papers of ABA Members

Here is a list of the ABA members whose personal papers are found in Special Collections in Performing Arts.

Click on the Links below to view their Finding Aids.

Harold Bachman Collection
Harold Bachman (1892-1972) was the organizer and conductor of the 2nd Infantry Band, also known as the “Million Dollar Band.” He later served as the head of band music for the Pacific Theater during World War II. Bachman was the director of bands for the University of Chicago and the University of Florida, and served as the president of ABA in 1950.
Frank Bencriscutto Collection
Dr. Frank Peter Anthony Bencriscutto was the Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Minnesota. He was a visiting professor and conductor of the wind ensemble at the Musashino Acadamia Musicae in Tokyo, Japan. He was posthumously awarded the 1997 Medal of Honor by the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic.
Kenneth Bloomquist
Kenneth Bloomquist was the director of the Michigan State University Bands. He served as President of ABA in 1995. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Frederic W. Boots papers
Frederic Wallace Boots (1922-2006) was the Associate Band Master of the United States Army Band. He served as the historian for ABA from 1997 to 2000.
Arthur Brandenburg papers
Arthur H. Brandenburg (1899-1986) was an American music educator and bandleader in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was a member of the American School Band Director’s Association (ASBDA) and the American Bandmasters Association (ABA), serving as the first director of the ABA Research Center.
Ernest O. Caneva
Ernest O. Caneva was an American band conductor, educator, composer, clinician, and adjudicator. His papers consist of scores, correspondence, documents, photographs, newsclippings, recordings, awards, and a band hat (or shako) pertaining to his career primarily at Lockport High School in Lockport, IL.
Patrick Conway Collection
Patrick “Patsy” Conway (1867-1929) taught music at Cornell, organized the Cornell Cadet Band and directed the Ithaca Band, which later evolved into a touring band called “Patrick Conway and His Band.” After organizing the U.S. Army Air Service band during World War I, he returned to Ithaca and founded the Conway Military Band School.
Cleon E. Dalby papers
Cleon E. Dalby organized and conducted high school bands in the Western Slope region of Colorado from 1914 to 1965. After leaving the public schools system, he continued to direct and teach privately for 28 years. Dalby was honored as a “Trendsetter in Music Education” by the Colorado Music Educators Association in 1989. The collection also contains material from Cleon’s son, Max Dalby. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Raymond F. Dvorak papers
Raymond F. Dvorak (1900-1982) was an American band director and music educator who spent much of his career as director of the University of Wisconsin bands. The collection contains materials related to Dvorak’s work as a band director, particularly those documenting his efforts in memorializing John Philip Sousa.
Merle Evans Papers
Merle Evans (1891 – 1987) was an American bandmaster and cornetist, known as the “Toscanini of the Big Top.” He was known best for his work leading the band for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and to a lesser degree leading the band for the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
Robert Foster Collection
Robert Foster was Director of Bands at the University of Kansas for 31 years. He served as President of ABA in 1992.
William Foster Collection
William Foster was Director of Bands at Florida A&M University for 52 years and the creator of the Marching "100." He served as President of ABA in 1994.
Loren Geiger papers
Loren D. Geiger (January 23, 1946 – February 19, 2009) was a music teacher, band director, and historian known for his publication of the newsletter, the Boombah Herald. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Patrick Gilmore Collection
Patrick S. Gilmore (1829-1892) was an American bandleader before the time of John Philip Sousa. His career highlights include leading the regimental band for the 24th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War, founding Gilbert and Wright: a musical instrument manufacturer, and organizing concerts of an enormous scale consisting of thousands of instrumentalists and singers for the National Peace Jubilee and World Peace Jubilee.
Edwin Franko Goldman Collection
Edwin Franko Goldman (1878-1956), a founder of the American Bandmasters Association and its first president, was a composer, scholar, and prominent conductor. In 1911 he formed his own band which began a summer concert series, later known as the Guggenhiem Memorial Concert Series, in New York City in 1918; this tradition continued under other directors including Goldman's son, Richard Franko Goldman, who led the band from 1956-1979.
Robert L. Grace collection
Robert L. Grace (1940-2019) was an American band director and audio recording engineer. He served as a band director for twenty-two years. Concurrent with his teaching career, he founded Vestige Custom Records, which evolved into Vestige Audio/Video. In 1985, he took a position at Louisiana State University School of Music to establish a recording studio and create a curriculum for recording techniques. In 1990, he became a full-time recording engineer for his own Vestige label, specializing in live recordings of band and jazz groups.
Robert Hawkins Collection
Dr. Robert Hawkins was director of bands and professor of music for Western State University of Colorado and Morehead State University. He was director of music camps in both locations. He was elected to the American Bandmasters Association in 1955. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Herbert Hazelman Collection
Herbert Hazelman (1913-2007) was an American band director, composer, and music educator. Hazelman is best known for his 40-year tenure as director of the Greensboro (Grimsley) North Carolina Senior High School Bands. He was responsible for numerous premiere performances of band music and made more than 150 recordings with school ensembles. He was elected to the American Bandmasters Association in 1951.
Hubert P. Henderson Collection
Hubert P. Henderson directed the band program at the University of Maryland, College Park from 1955 to 1965. Henderson was elected to the American Bandmasters’ Association (ABA) in 1961 and resigned from the association in 1968. During his membership, he was integral to the establishment of the ABA Journal, a scholarly peer-reviewed publication, and served as the first director of the ABA Research Center.
John Heney Collection
The John Heney Collection contains materials relating to Heney's career with the John Philip Sousa Band and his interest in preserving Sousa's memory after the band leader's death. Heney's involvement in music education is also closely documented through the materials in the collection.
William Hill Collection
William Hill was a composer of band music who won the ABA Sousa/Ostwald Award in 1977 for "Dances Sacred and Profane." This collection is not yet processed.
Mark Hindsley Collection
Mark Hindsley (1905-1999) was a band director, music instructor, author, and composer of band transcriptions. He spent much of his career at the University of Illinois where he directed the Marching Illini and was Professor of Music. In 1948, he became the Director of Bands at Illinois; he served in that position until his retirement in 1970. During his long and fruitful career, Hindsley wrote seven books and more than forty magazine articles about instrumental music. In order to make classical music compositions more widely available to band student, he created over seventy transcriptions.
Robert L. Hoffman papers
Robert L. Hoffman was an accomplished clarinetist who played under Arturo Toscanini, Leopold Stokowski, Leonard Bernstein and Edwin Franko Goldman. Hoffman studied at the Ernest Williams School of Music, New York University, and Columbia University. He taught at NYU and Queens College. Hoffman also conducted the Princeton University Band, the Westbury Fire Department Band, and the Roslyn Recreation Band. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
George S. Howard Collection
Colonel George Sallade Howard (1902-1995) was director of the U.S. Air Force Band program from 1944-1963. He founded several military music groups, including the Singing Sergeants, the Airmen of Note, the USAF Drum and Bugle Corp, the USAF Bagpipe Band, the WAF Band, and the Strolling Strings. Howard was a successful music educator as well as a clinician and spokesperson for bands and band music. He was a past president of the National Bandmasters Association and Chair of the John Phillip Sousa Memorial. He was honored as an honorary life president of ABA. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Eldon A. Janzen papers
Eldon Janzen was Director of Bands at the University of Arkansas. He was involved with ABA, MENC and CBDNA as well as being highly involved with Phi Beta Mu. Mr. Janzen was inducted into the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Hall of Fame in Chicago on December 8, 2008.
C. William Johnson Collection
Charles William Johnson (1928-2013), a music educator, served as the Band Director of the Oxon Hill Senior High School Band from 1952 to 1981. During his time as Band director, Johnson led the OHHS Band in performances at many prestigious national clinics and festivals, including the Mid-West National Band Clinic and the 1964 Worlds Fair. In addition to serving as Band Director, Johnson was inducted into the American Bandmasters Association in 1964, an honor typically reserved for college and university conductors. The collection consists of materials from both Oxon Hill High School and Johnsons involvement with ABA, including correspondence, programs, photographs, clippings, awards, recordings, and other ephemera, as well as personal correspondence and items from the memorial held for Johnson following his death in 2013.
Richard Madden Collection
Richard Madden was an accomplished oboist and clarinetist. He was the band director for the Evanston Township and Haven High School Bands before directing the Syracuse University Band. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Frank Mancini papers
Frank Mancini was the director of the Stanislaus County Boys Band, as well as the director of bands for Modesto Public Schools and Modesto Junior College. His collection contains correspondence with Revelli and Goldman, among others.
Donald McGinnis papers
Dr. Donald McGinnis (1917-2016) was a prominent band director, clarinetist, flautist, teacher, and clinician through the middle of the 20th Century. He served as the director of the Ohio State University Concert Band until his retirement in 1979.
Stanley Michalski Collection
Stanley F. Michalski, Jr. is a collegiate band director and band clinician . He served Clarion University of Pennsylvania for thirty-one years from 1961 to 1992. Dr. Michalski was elected president of ABA in 1998. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Gilbert H. Mitchell Collection
Gilbert Mitchell was a cornettist and conductor who, at the age of 18, substituted with the Radio City Music Hall Symphony Orchestra and began to work with Leopold Stokowski and the New York City Symphony. Drafted into the Army in 1946, he began a career with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” He co-founded the Army Herald Trumpets and coordinated music for the state funeral of President John F. Kennedy.
William J. Moody papers
Dr. William J. Moody (1931-2018) was an American music educator, teacher, administrator, and conductor. He led bands and choirs at high schools in Rossville, Indiana and Duluth, Minnesota before working as Director of Bands at the University of Southern Mississippi, University of Texas at Austin, and the University of South Carolina at various points throughout his career. Moody also served in several roles as a member of the American Bandmasters Association and the National Band Association, most notably as the ABA Secretary-Treasurer from 2003-2015.
John O'Reilly papers
The John O’Reilly Papers include sketches, holograph scores, program notes, and recordings documenting the composer’s nearly 50-year career writing music.
Queens Symphonic Band Collection
Dr. Raoul Camus founded the Queens Symphonic Band in 1970. Initially named the Queensborough Community Band, it became the Queens Symphonic Band in 1989. The collection primarily contains programs from the bands concerts, as well as promotional materials, photographs, and correspondence.
Mabel Rosenthal Collection on Edwin Franko Goldman
This collection was compiled by Mabel Rosenthal, a family friend of Goldman's, and consists of newspaper clippings, programs, correspondence, photographs, medals, and scores related to Goldman's career as a conductor and composer.
Lynn L. Sams papers
A founding member of the ABA, Lynn L. Sams (1896-1990) was also a businessman and leader in the music industry. For many years, he served as editor of the ABA newsletter and as the ABA historian. Over his lifetime, Sams collected biographical material and photographs documenting the history of the band in America and prominent people in the band world.
Clarence E. Sawhill papers
Clarence Sawhill was Director of Bands at the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. He also served as Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois.
Kenneth Slater Collection
A conductor and cornetist, Kenneth Slater (1917-2005) performed with the "The President’s Own" United States Marine Band and the United States Army Field Band, where he was the cornet soloist for nearly a decade. Later he became the director of the Almas Temple Band (Washington, DC) and Hagerstown Municipal Band (Maryland).
Earl Slocum Collection
In 1924, Dr. Earl A. Slocum became the first male student to graduate from Albion College with a public school music certificate. Slocum was director of bands at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Slocum was elected President of ABA in 1962. He is also known for his transcriptions for concert band.
Claude T. Smith Collection
Claude T. Smith was a prominent American educator, conductor and composer. This collection contains handwritten condensed and full scores for compositions that were written throughout his career.
William J. Stannard papers
William J. Stannard (1893-1950) was the first person appointed to the position of Leader of the U.S. Army Band. Stannard’s entire career was spent as an Army musician, from his first enlistment with the Tenth Band of the Coast Artillery Corps in 1901, through his retirement from the U.S. Army Band in 1935, and his leaving the Army Officers Reserve Corps in 1942.
Jack Wainwright Collection
The Jack Wainwright Collection contains five scrapbooks of materials, mostly relating to school band contests in which Wainwright was involved between 1923 and 1926. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Chester E. Whiting collection
The Chester E. Whiting collection contains material relating to Whiting's career with the U.S. Army, including his role in creating and leading the U.S. Army Field Band. Materials in it date from 1919 to 2015, but the bulk dates are 1946-1960.
Don Wilcox Collection
Don Wilcox served as the director of the marching bands and then director of bands at West Virginia University. Wilcox was elected president of the ABA in 2001. A finding aid is not available online at this time. Please contact the Curator for more information.
Arthur L. Williams Collection
Arthur L. Williams was an active researcher and musician. He was appointed to the faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in 1928 and founded the Ohio Intercollegiate Band Festival and the Ohio School Orchestra Contests in 1929. In 1950, Williams served as chairman of ABA Research Sub-Committee on Band Research Study Topics.
Ernest S. Williams Collection
Ernest S. Williams (1881-1947) was a cornetist, educator, bandmaster, and member of the American Bandmasters Association. He founded both the Ernest Williams School of Music and the Ernest Williams Band and Orchestra Camp. (Non-NAfME collection).
George C. Wilson Collection
Dr. George C. Wilson was a music educator and conductor, holding positions at the Kansas State Teachers College, University of Arizona and University of Missouri. He was elected president of the ABA in 1965. He helped organize the 1966 conference of ISME at Interlochen, Michigan. Dr. Wilson dedicated much of his life to the National Music Camp, later to become Interlochen Arts Camp, serving as a faculty member, vice-president, and also interim president in 1970-1971 for the Interlochen Center for the Arts. In 1973 he assisted Imelda Marcos with the development and planning of the Philippine Center of the Arts.
Arthur Wise papers
Arthur Wise (1906-1973) was a music educator, a public school band director and a community ensemble conductor. He served as band director at Lisbon H.S. in Lisbon, Ohio, and Lincoln High School in Philadelphia. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Wise was an avid Civil War scholar, and, with the collaboration of Francis A. Lord, he published two books on the topic, Bands and Drummer Boys of the Civil War and Uniforms of the Civil War. Wise also completed an unpublished manuscript on the Willow Grove Park Concerts.
Al Wright papers
The Al Wright collection contains correspondence, programs, articles, notes, scores, and photographs documenting Wright's career as Director of Bands at Purdue University between 1954 and 1981, and his involvement in a variety of wind band organizations.
Paul V. Yoder Collection
Paul Yoder was elected president of the ABA in 1963. He helped establish the Journal of Band Research and the ABA Research Center. He co-wrote a series of music theory and method books, a six volume guide to band arranging, and composed over 1,500 solo and ensemble works for young musicians.
Victor Zajec papers
Victor Zajec (1923-2005) has written two books on the history of the American Bandmasters Association: "The Edwin Franko Goldman Memorial Citation: A History," 1998 and Past Presidents of the American Bandmasters Association, 2000. Both books provide biographical sketches of the office holders and honorees. The Zajec Collection contains correspondence and information files on these individuals. The Zajec Papers also include research materials for Victor's book The First Fifty Years: Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic (Homewood, IL: Midwest Clinic, 1996).