West Point Band

The West Point Band is the U.S. Army's oldest active-duty band and the oldest unit at the United States Military Academy.
An act of Congress issued on March 16, 1802 directed that a corps of engineers be established and stationed at West Point which would constitute a Military Academy. This act formed the Regiment of Artillerist which included four military musicians, the first officially assigned musicians to the United States Military Academy. The band as a unit received its official authorization from the Department of War on June 16, 1817.

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Unit organization

Four official ensembles make up the West Point Band: The Ceremonial Concert Band, the "Hellcats" or field music group, the West Point Brass Quintet, and the "Benny Havens Band" or popular music group. These ensembles fulfill all of the official musical requirements of the United States Military Academy including military ceremonies, public concerts, sporting events, radio/television broadcasts, and Corps of Cadets activities.

Notable appearances

As the senior premier musical representative of the United States Army, the band has appeared at many historical events. It performed for the farewell visit of General Lafayette; the dedication of the Erie Canal; the St. Louis, Chicago and New York World's Fairs; the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in 1970 and 2016; for the funerals of Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Richard M. Nixon; and the inaugurations of numerous presidents.
Additionally, the West Point Band has collaborated with some of the finest musical ensembles in the country, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Members of the West Point Band have been showcased at Carnegie Hall and featured on the Today Show, 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, The History Channel, Discovery Channel, and recordings with Columbia Records.

Inaugural parades

The West Point Band has been a part of 18 inaugural parades, a tradition that began in 1873 with President Ulysses S. Grant, a West Point graduate.

Year	President	Photograph
1872	Ulysses S. Grant
1891	James A. Garfield
1905	Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
1909	William H. Taft
1917	Woodrow Wilson
1921	Warren G. Harding
1937	Franklin D. Roosevelt
1949	Harry S. Truman
1953, 1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower
1961	John F. Kennedy
1965	Lyndon B. Johnson
1969, 1973	Richard M. Nixon
1977	Jimmy E. Carter
1981	Ronald W. Reagan
1989	George H.W. Bush
1993, 1997	William J. Clinton
2001, 2005	George W. Bush

History

Early beginnings: 1778–1802

While commanding the Continental Army during the American Revolution, George Washington wrote to his officers:
The West Point Band can trace its roots back to when fifers and drummers were stationed within companies of Continental Soldiers on Constitution Island, just across the Hudson River from West Point. In 1778, shortly after these words by Washington, Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons and his brigade crossed the icy Hudson River and climbed onto The Plain at West Point. Since that day, West Point has been occupied by the United States Army, and soldier musicians have been ever present.

Formative years: 1802–1815

With the establishment of the United States Military Academy in 1802 came an increased demand for military music. As the academy grew, it needed fifers, drummers and buglers to drill the cadets and regulate their daily duties. On April 15, 1802, Jonathan Williams the first Superintendent of the United States military academy set down his desire to have a professional band at West Point with two Teachers of Music of the enlisted rank.
Music at West Point began with two attached musicians to do the various formations which required musical support. Musician Francis Masi and his brother Vincent Masi were the first documented Field Musicians assigned to the Military Academy, being hired on February 28, 1803, in accordance with an Act of Congress.
By 1809, young men of enlistment age were being recruited or transferred to West Point as musicians. John Babbitt, a fifer, had been Company Fife Major at the 6th Infantry Band School on Governor's Island and was most likely a full-time soldier/musician transferred to West Point. With the beginning of the War of 1812, West Point's role as a professional military school would solidify further, and the need for a professional band become essential for military drill and training. To that end, Captain Alden Partridge's Company of Vermont Militia from Norwich, Vermont formed the core of The Company of Bombardiers, Sappers, and Miners at West Point by an Act of Congress on April 29, 1812. Among them, four musicians were listed: Joseph Roberts, Eleazar Smith, Joab Young, and Silas A. Robinson. These soldiers were the first example of a complete West Point band of martial music.

Official beginnings: 1815–1819

At the conclusion of the War of 1812, the need for a professional band was solidified. Joseph Gardner Swift authorized the purchase of new melodic instruments. By the fall of 1815, the instruments and band uniforms ordered by Alden Partridge had arrived. A series of orders moved selected army musicians in 1815 and arranged for their training at the 6th Infantry Band School at Governor's Island and attachment to West Point. By April of 1816, the band was fully staffed for professional concerts and parades. Within two years of its formation, the military band at West Point was touring the East Coast and fostering West Point's image as a major tourist attraction. Its reputation eclipsed area orchestras of the day and preceded the formation of the New York Philharmonic by twenty-five years.
By 1817, leadership for the West Point Band was given to a civilian with the pay and benefits of a Major. This uncommon honor was granted by the Secretary of War and later approved by Congress. Teacher of Music Richard Willis was an accomplished instructor of all band instruments but was a known virtuoso on the Kent Bugle or Keyed Bugle, an early chromatic keyed brass instrument. The Keyed Bugle would soon become obsolete with the invention of the modern piston valve around 1821, a technology that is still in use today on modern brass instruments.
During this period, the ensemble was performing on a full range of instruments. The first official band muster roll, taken in 1817, included bassoon, flutes, Royal Kent bugle, clarinets, French horns, trumpet, trombone, fifes, and drum. Throughout 1817, Richard Willis led the band in many documented performances; for President James Monroe's first official visit to West Point to inspect the military facilities, in New York City at the Scudder Museum, for funerals at the West Point Cemetery, a ceremony ordered by Sylvanus Thayer to unveil the new Wood Monument, concerts on the Hudson River, cadet exercises on academy grounds, and the much-loved annual outdoor concerts at the ruins of Fort Putnam.

Professional years: 1819–1850

Willis' appointment as Teacher of Music established the group's elite status early on and set the ensemble apart from other military bands of the time. Through a regimen of daily rehearsals and a busy performance schedule, Willis honed the musicians into a polished ensemble. During Willis' tenure as the band's leader, the band would perform for presidents, national and international historic figures, dignitaries visiting West Point, for crowds in New York City, and alongside the Corps of Cadets.
In 1820, the band and Willis performed a regular concert series at West Point for cadets, tours, and visitors. Cadet diaries of the time document that the audiences had their favorite pieces performed at these concerts: "Hunter's Chorus" from Der Freischutz, a piece called "The Nightengale" which featured flute players from the band playing from the trees, and an Irish folk tune arranged by Willis for band entitled, "Oh! Mary when the Wild Wind Blows." Some of these pieces were probably performed in August of that year for a special concert in New York City Harbor for the U.S. Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams.

Long march to Boston

Under Superintendent Sylvanus Thayer the United States Corps of Cadets accompanied by the USMA Band undertook numerous summer marches as a method of garnering good will towards the Academy. Hugely successful by all accounts, the Corps was greeted by the enthralled citizens of New York City, Philadelphia and, the most famous march, Boston. It was during the 1817 march to Philadelphia that Willis and the West Point Band reunited with famous keyed bugle player and band leader Francis Johnson. Willis and Johnson were musical colleagues and friends.
On July 20, 1821, the Corps of Cadets boarded steamboats to Troy and from there began the 170 mile march eastward, arriving on August 7th and establishing “Camp Hamilton” on Boston Common. Numerous tours, galas and visitations were held during the two week stay, and the USMA Band figured prominently, even performing for former President John Adams. Bandmaster Willis reprised the President's old campaign song, Adams and Liberty, by then a popular tune known to the younger generation as The Star-Spangled Banner.

General Lafayette's American tour

In the summer of 1824, Willis and the West Point Band had yet another historic experience when the revered General Lafayette, hero of the Revolutionary War and now retiree of sixty-six years arrived in New York Harbor aboard the Cadmus. The beloved Frenchman was a hero to Americans for his victories at the battles of Brandywine, Monmouth, and Yorktown. Willis and the Band took part in at least four major receptions around New York City which honored the distinguished guest. They greeted Lafayette on his arrival off Staten Island on August 15, 1824. They were at Fort Lafayette at the harbor when Lafayette inspected that site on September 6, 1824. They played the reception in Castle Garden on September 14, 1824, and they were on hand to welcome Lafayette to West Point when he stepped ashore to pay his respects to the institution he styled our "bulwark of national defense." Willis and his musicians may even have been aboard the Cadmus during Lafayette's travels to upstate New York.

Opening of the Erie Canal

Richard Willis also wrote music celebrating the opening of the Erie Canal on October 26th, 1825. The work, The Grand Canal March was well received in its day and is still to be found in U.S. music collections throughout America. Willis' Grand Canal March was premiered by him and "his elegant band of music" during final ceremonies marking the waterway's opening. This first performance was heard toward the close of a fortnight's festivities ending a nine-year project that brought unprecedented growth and prosperity to northern New York State and made New York Harbor the most significant port on the eastern seaboard. Participants enjoyed civic salutes that included processions, speeches, entertainment, the firing of cannons, and countless bonfires.

"Ol' Bentz," The Bugler

In the 200 plus years that musicians have been stationed at West Point, there is probably no musician more notorious, or cherished, than Private Louis Bentz. Born in Orlofen, Germany at the turn of the 19th century, Bentz was a former cavalry musician and a master of the keyed bugle. In 1834 he enlisted as a U.S. Army musician and served at West Point as the Chief Bugler for 35 years, retiring in 1874. But it wasn’t his musical prowess that won him the hearts of the Corps of Cadets. It was his eccentricities.
Over his four-decade long career at West Point, cadets knew Bentz as “Old Bentz,” “The Bugler,” and endearingly, “Old Wax.” Considering how cadets might tend to resent the person who wakes them up with a blazing bugle call at the crack of dawn, Bentz was beloved for his peculiarities. He was christened “Old Wax” due to his penchant for chewing honeycomb. It’s not an exaggeration to say that he always had a wad of beeswax in his mouth. When he had to play bugle, he would simply deposit the masticated wax on the instrument, and then pop it back into his mouth after he’d finished playing. Some might say that leaving chewed-up goop on your instrument is a disgusting habit, but the cadets apparently deemed it charming. Bentz’s bugle is housed at the West Point Museum, where one can see traces of old beeswax still stuck to the horn.

Civil War and the Gilded Age 1850–1900

During the lean years of the 1850s, the Academy would mourn the death of President Taylor, the death of Captain Alden Partridge, and the Teacher of Music would find himself doing two full-time jobs in an effort to keep from being destitute. This talented TM, Augustus Appelles composed marches, performed on violin with the Band, performed as a full-time Post Organist, and kept the reputation of West Point alive.
During the Civil War, the band would continue its duties performing for Cadet training, drill, and military ceremony. Also, during this period General Winfield Scott retired from the Army and moved back to New York near West Point. He is buried at West Point Cemetery. In June 1862, President Lincoln visited Highland Falls and West Point to see General Winfield Scott. The band performed an after-midnight concert at the Cozzens Hotel in Highland Falls during a pouring rain. President Lincoln is said to have slept through the music. President Lincoln was kind enough to personally thank Charles Rehm in written correspondence dated February 7, 1862. After the Civil War, the band may have performed for Ulysses S. Grant's first presidential inauguration parade in 1868, although there is no material evidence. However, it is confirmed through correspondence that the band was present at his second inaugural parade in 1873. This is the first known Inaugural for both the Band and the Corps of Cadets. In addition to this, the Band performed for Prince Alexis of Russia in 1871 and the 1876 United States Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, PA.
In 1877, the Band performed for the Funeral of General George Armstrong Custer who is buried at the West Point Cemetery. The band also marched in the funeral parade for General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1891 in New York City and for the Funeral of Ulysses S. Grant in 1885. For President Grant, the band performed as the Corps of Cadets rendered their final respects as the funeral train stopped at West Point one final time.
1890 marked the first ever Army-Navy football game, which the band supported with music. This tradition continues to the present day, as the Corps of Cadets march onto the field for the opening review ceremonies and also throughout the game in the stands. The band also performed at the famed Chicago and Louisiana Purchase Expositions in 1893 and 1904.

Notable alumni

West Point Band members have often accepted major musical positions around the world following their service. Even though this list is far from complete, it accurately portrays the caliber and depth of talent which has graced the band over the past two centuries.

Edward Birdwell, French Horn - American Brass Quintet
Larry Black, Trumpet - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Pat Smith, Cello - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Joseph Clodfelter, Viola - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Edward Patey, Violin - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Larry Combs, Principal Clarinet - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Norm Sweikert, French Horn - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Gordon Peters, Percussion - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Roger Klein, String Bass - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Eric Wicks, Violin - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Dave Zauder, Trumpet - Cleveland Orchestra
Paul Kitzman, Trombone - Dallas Symphony
Steve Girko, Clarinet - Dallas Symphony
LeRoy Fenstermach, Viola - Detroit Symphony
Robert Pangborn, Percussion - Detroit Symphony
Raymond Turner, Trombone - Detroit Symphony
Tom Stevens, Principal Trumpet - Los Angeles Philharmonic
Rob Roy McGregor, Trumpet - Los Angeles Philharmonic
David Weiss, Principal Oboe - Los Angeles Philharmonic
Alan Goodman, Bassoon - Los Angeles Philharmonic
Jim Walker, Flute - Los Angeles Philharmonic
Mel Broiles, Principal Trumpet - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Hal Janks, Bass Trombone - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Robert Hailey, Trumpet - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Robert Gillespie, Trombone - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
TM George Essigke, Violin - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
TM Philip Egner, Cello - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Robert Nagel, Trumpet - New York Brass Quintet
Paul Ingraham, French Horn - New York City Ballet Orchestra
Donald Harwood, Bass Trombone - New York Philharmonic
Ranier DeIntinis, French Horn - New York Philharmonic
Larry Newland, Assistant Conductor/Viola - New York Philharmonic
Dom Bello, Oboe - New York Philharmonic
Bill Blount, Principal Clarinet - Orchestra of St. Lukes
Frank Kaderabek, Principal Trumpet - Philadelphia Orchestra
Paul Krzywicki, Tuba - Philadelphia Orchestra
Thomas Fay, Oboe - Pittsburgh Symphony
Malcolm McNab, Studio Trumpet - Hollywood