As the 200th anniversary of the United States of America grew nearer each day, so did the list of Bicentennial organizations in American communities from coast to coast continue to grow. One of the editions of "the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration’s" (ARBA) official Register of Bicentennial Activities, listed thousands of recognized groups who had pledged to do their part in the two year long celebration commemorating the American Revolution. Among the most interesting groups listed in the ARBA Register was the Department of Defense military musical organization known as The United States Armed Forces Bicentennial Band. A prestigious gathering of military music men and women, this unique band brought together for the first time, the finest musicians of each of the US. Armed Forces.

Under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Hal J Gibson, a veteran Army bandmaster, the Bicentennial Band began touring the nation in 1975 performing a wide variety of America’s favorite music, from old standards to some of the newest melodies written especially for the Bicentennial celebration.

This extraordinary musical aggregation didn’t just happen. The story behind the Band’s formation is almost as fascinating as the music it played. During 1973, when most of the country was merely looking toward 1976 with what might be best described as a passing interest, some of the most innovative minds of the American military were deeply involved in planning the role the Armed Forces would play in the Bicentennial celebration. Several highly involved, wide ranging extravaganza were considered. In the final analysis, after plans for huge tour road shows, floating showboats and the like were rejected, the more practical, and yet attractive idea of joint service band emerged as the most satisfactory medium for the Defense Department Bicentennial message.

Once the idea of the band was decided upon, a joint service planning task force was created to coordinate details of manning, equipping and placing this 67 piece concert band and 24 voice mixed chorus on the tour circuit to deliver the message of America's heritage to her citizens from " sea to shining sea.

In selecting the music the Band performs, Colonel Gibson exercised great care that no segment of American society was overlooked. America is a land made great by the diversity of its population, he explained. The USA has gained much from her citizens of all nationalities and economic classes. The country is an unfinished symphony of progress and the melody continues to be written by her citizens from all walks; doctors and salesmen, teachers and technicians, laborers and farmers; people of all races, immigrants and natives alike have made significant contributions to America’s growth. While the melody is written in many tongues, the harmony is sung by a single voice unity. That was the message of the Bicentennial Band.

In molding that central theme into the Bicentennial Band, volunteer musicians from each of the premier service bands were auditioned. To that nucleus of proven professional talent, a wide range of extremely gifted students from the nation’s best music schools was added to produce the end result a symphonic band that according to music critics, ranked among the finest ever organized in the world.

From drawing board to concert stage, the Bicentennial Band’s most prevalent theme was top quality professional musical entertainment in the American mood. The men and women of The United States Armed Forces Bicentennial Band pursued the form of artistry that delighted, thrilled and instilled a renewed sense of pride in audiences from the concrete and glass corridors of New York City across the vast Midwest plains to the Redwood forests of the great Northwest. From Maine to the Gulf states, the Bicentennial Band was acclaimed as the Sound of the Nation, the Heartbeat of the People!@

 II The Bicentennial Band

Band music has always been associated with patriotic fervor and marching feet. Spine tingling brasses, thundering percussion and whispering woodwinds bring home the nostalgia and pride commonly associated with their great, American heritage. With our America's 200th anniversary a short time away, the formation of a great military band seemed an appropriate way of stimulating appreciation and interest in the American Bicentennial celebration.

Accordingly, the Department of Defense established the' 67-piece United States Armed Forces Bicentennial Band and 24 voice mixed chorus. This band and chorus were the results of many months of study to determine how the military would best be represented during this exciting period in the nation's history.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Hal J. Gibson, past Conductor of the U. S. Army Field Band, was chosen to lead this new Defense Department organization. Colonel Gibson's considerable stature as a musician had become a hallmark throughout his long and varied career as an Army bandmaster. Captain James C. Whittenton, veteran of the Air Force music program, and Lieutenant (junior grade) Bill Brittain, formerly of the U. S. Navy Band, were chosen as Associate Conductors.

Primary recruiting for this unique organization took place within the established major service bands. It was obvious from the start, however, that these fine bands couldn't be the only manpower resource, since they were facing demanding Bicentennial schedules of their own. The decision was made early to canvass the nation's foremost music schools in search of extremely gifted young musicians interested in becoming part of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

After visiting schools throughout the country, a handful of extremely talented musicians was selected to perform with the Bicentennial Band. These musicians were enlisted in the various services under the provisions of special programs for assignment to the new organization.

Headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, the historic Army post located just outside the nation's capital, the Bicentennial Band traveled hundreds of miles each week, taking a musical salute to the nation's 200th anniversary to Americans from coast to coast. The Band's mission according to Colonel Gibson was "To reach as many Americans as possible during the Bicentennial years; through tour appearance in all 50 state capitals; as many other cities and towns as time will allow, and through special concerts and presentations in conjunction with most major Bicentennial events throughout the land". Colonel Gibson went on to say "We hope, through these efforts, to augment the spirit of renewed national commitment which this anniversary is sure to foster in the hearts of our fellow citizens everywhere."

The following article by Colonel Gibson is reprinted from the November 1974 issue of the School Musician and Director

By LIEUTENANT COLONEL HAL J. GIBSON

Commander and Conductor

United States Armed Forces Bicentennial Band

The Department of Defense, as one of its singular contributions to our country's two-hundredth anniversary observance, has chosen to establish a new band comprising musicians from all five branches o military service. The United States Armed Forces Bicentennial Band will be a full 67 piece concert band, plus an ' SATB chorus of 24 voices.

Our goal is to reach as many Americans as possible during the next two years through personal appearances in all 50 state capitals and as many other cities and towns of the United States and its territories as time will allow, and through special concerts and presentations in conjunction with most of the major Bicentennial events scheduled throughout the land. We hope, by these efforts, to augment the spirit of renewed national commitment, which this anniversary is sure to foster in the hearts of our fellow citizens everywhere.

For many reasons, no more effective or appropriate choice could have been made by the military branch of our government than to institute this unique, all-services concert band. As an integral part of the armed forces since our first battle for independence, a service band can readily identify historically with the birth of our nation. The most colorful things the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard share in common are their military bands, which traditionally attract many of the world's finest musicians and serve as training grounds for their successors. And finally, though other countries unquestionably have fine bands of their own, we've developed a very possessive attitude toward the field, whether justified or not, we look upon bands as an American institution.

During the "drawing board" stages of this idea, we were most concerned with the necessity of obtaining the very best musicians available. Primary recruiting would be from amongst the established major service bands and a secondary area would include all other active reserve bands. It was obvious, however, that these bands couldn't possibly afford to be our only resource, because each of them will have an important role in America's anniversary pageant; some recruitment from the civilian domain would be necessary and we approached this realm with a number of reservations.

The major service bands were gratifyingly cooperative in lending us some of their finest players, but my Associate Conductors, (Air Force Captain James C. Whittenton, and Navy Lieutenant William G. Brittain, Jr.), and I were even more impressed by the response of young people from the music colleges we were able to canvass. The high degree of talent we encountered among these men and women, and their obvious sincerity, made a difficult task of selecting which of them we could possibly afford not to hire.

In the long hiatus between laying the foundations and finally assembling the band, I've had ample time to consider and reconsider a number of things in light of our recent recruiting experiences.

Never before have we seen such an abundance of patently bright and dedicated young musicians. Why this overflow when all the arts seem so hard-pressed to attract and maintain audiences?

"Future Shock" is the phrase popularly used to describe civilization's apathy, which we felt most directly in disappointingly poor attendance at many concerts over the past few years. I'm enough of a romantic to interpret the problem this way: the increasing deluge of scientific advances has resulted in a temporary loss of balance between technology and aesthetics and it is this state which produced the widespread symptoms of lethargy and withdrawal.

But that phenomenon is fading, now, beneath a growing wave of nostalgia, a desire to return to "the good old days," to a time "when a man at least knew where he stood!" I'm certain nostalgia will soon reach epidemic proportions and that it signals a restorative pause in which man will renew his comprehension of himself and his world.

History may well mark, at this eras beginning, the Bicentennial celebration of the United States. Our nostalgic nation is certain to be swept headlong toward the rebirth of Americanism, a reaffirmation of the dreams and ideals that are the cornerstones of this great land. With this renewal must come a return to the perception and appreciation of beauty.

It is not enough that the arts respond by following such a trend, they must be prepared to show the way. Because of the conditions present in the United States, there is no art-form more ideally suited to this purpose than the band. No vehicle of expression is so closely related to patriotism, through tradition and current usage, as stirring band music. No medium is so capable of transmitting the message of America's past, present and future, as the one we, as bandsmen, call our own.  We are not only on the threshold, we are at the heart of what may prove the greatest flowering of the arts in our time. In the years ahead, we should experience a great surge in exciting new music composed expressly for bands and an even greater increase in its popularity.

"The Age of the Band" is finally here, and so closely allied with America's Bicentennial that it is difficult to say which is the vehicle and which the message. If we take advantage of the moment, we will surely see the band assume a leading role in music in our own lifetimes and you and I, and all the fine young musicians whose existence underscores my optimism, will each have been -let us say - "instrumental" in achieving this long-awaited goal.

Lieutenant Colonel Hat J. Gibson, U.S. - Army, was selected as Commander and Conductor of the Bicentennial band . This band was organized for the The United States Bicentennial of 1976.

The Bicentennial band first showcased their talents in their premier concert at the John F Kennedy Center for the performing arts on March 24^th 1975. This concert which featured a stirring program of music for and about America, was a stunning musical event. The band were 67 strong with a 24 member chorus and the halls of the prestigious JFK performing center were filled with a true affirmation of American patriotism, tradition and musical culture. The band began touring on Wednesday April 9^th in Dover Delaware. This tour which took the band from Delaware through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York state, also covered the New England states and in addition on Friday April 25^th brought the message to Canada with performances in Montreal, Quebec City and in Ottawa in 3 electrifying concerts. In all, the band played 43 concerts in their spring tour from April 9^th to May 9^th, sometimes performing three concerts in one day. The performances were almost invariably in top notch venues as an example the band played in the prestigious Avery Fisher Hall of the Lincoln Center for the performing arts in New York City on April 14^th.

Subsequently the band toured throughout America. In the fall of 1976 traveling several thousand miles through the US West, beginning on September 7^th in Great Falls Montana, moving through this state and on to Wyoming and onto Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota. By September 28^th the band and chorus had reached Minneapolis and after performances in St Paul and Winona the show troupe then moved off to perform in Des Moines Iowa, Cedar Rapids and Madison Wisconsin. After the band played a concert in Milwaukee they headed for a long journey for a three night stay in Chicago, and another stop in Bloomington Illinois and Fort Wayne Indiana. The band and chorus then played at the Kellogg Auditorium in Battle Creek Michigan. On October 15^th the band stopped in Plymouth Michigan just outside of Detroit and performed a concert in the Hill Auditorium on the campus of the University of Michigan. The next two stops were in Ohio, at Finley College and in Cincinnati where the band and chorus performed a Sunday evening concert at Xavier University. Next the band spent several hours journeying to Huntington West Virginia. This concert which was played in the evening was in the Ritter Park Amphitheatre. An outdoor concert on October 18^th can prove to be a disaster, however it is was a fitting tribute to the professionalism of this ensemble that the concert went off without a hitch. Finally on October 20^th the band returned to their headquarters in Ft. Meade.

This was not however the end of their travels as they managed to play several more concerts before finally being dissolved before Christmas of 1976.

The band was truly a great American institution as indicated by the music they performed in their concerts across America, Canada and Mexico. The inaugural concert was just the beginning of the great music which heralded the band's performance

PATRIOTIC PROLOGUE …………………………William G Brittain Jr

FOR THIS DEAR LAND……………………………Aneuerin Bodycombe/ Maurice E Ford

CHIMES OF LIBERTY………………………………Edwin Franko Goldman

CHESTER OVERTURE FOR BAND………………..William Schuman

MOLLY ON THE SHORE…………………………………… .Percy A Grainger

SOLILOQUY FROM CARROUSEL…………………… George Whissen

TWO MARCHES FROM REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA …………..Richard Franko Goldman

FANFARE, CHORALE AND FUGUE………………………………… Caesar Giovannini/Wayne Robinson…

AMERICA SINGS-NEW ENGLAND…………………………………..Vaclav Nelhybel

BROADWAY CURTAIN TIME…………………………………………John Krance

HERITAGE……………………………………………………………….Roy Ringwald

EXCERPTS FROM MASS……………………………………………….Leonard Bernstein

SONG OF DEMOCRACY……………………………………………… Howard Hanson

SEMPER FIDELIS……………………………………………………… John Philip Sousa

SPIRIT of 76 ……………………………………………………… Clare Grundman…

AN ELLINGTON PORTRAIT…………………………………………. Floyd E Werle

An ARMED FORCES MEDLEY…………………………………………..Llewellyn Matthews

STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER………………………………………JOHN PHILIP SOUSA

Band musicians and musicologists will recognize that many of the composers and arrangers listed as well as the music performed represented the finest pens in America. Vaclav Nelhybel, Caesar Giovannini, John Krance, the Goldman's, father and son, the great John Philip Sousa, Clare Grundman, Howard Hanson and the marvelous US Air Force arranger and composer Floyd E Werle, just to name a few.

There is no doubt the band was a magnificent organization that was able to reach out to America with a message of faith, hope and in a democratic spirit. Their music rang throughout America and brought the great art form of band music to almost every corner  of the North American continent. The Bicentennial band was not just a great musical organization, it helped to bring a message that the  American band movement was alive and well and that great band music still had a place in the soul of Americans.

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Last modified: 02/06/06