Navy Band History 1930-1960
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United States Navy Band, 1937, in the Sail Loft, Washington Navy Yard, Lt. Charles Benter, Leader. Future leaders, Charles Brendler and Anthony Mitchell are seated in the clarinet section. |
The post depression decade of the 1930s brought about significant changes for the Navy Band. Touring was temporarily halted in 1932 and did not resume until 1936 because the modest admission fees charged by the civilian tour director were not affordable by American families. There was a positive side to the situation however; many professional musicians were put out of work and the possibility of a steady paycheck enabled the Navy Band to hire the "cream of the crop." Already one of the great bands of the world, the Navy Band continued to gain in stature with the hiring of these top performers.
Of special significance during the 1930s was the fact that the Navy Band was available to the public through a series of 50 commercial recordings listed in the "Brunswick Catalogue of Phonograph Records." 1933 marked the band's first "Anniversary Concert" as Lt. Benter, the band and orchestra presented a "15th Anniversary Concert" at DAR Constitution Hall, based on the establishment of the Navy Yard Band in 1918 rather than the official Navy Band created by an Act of Congress in 1925.
Another milestone of the 30s was the first of many appearances of the Navy Band to the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Canada. For the first time in its 60-year history, the exhibition presented a foreign military band as its featured musical attraction in 1937. This was the same year as the coronation of King George VI and a testament to the good will and fraternalism of the two great English-speaking countries in North America. The goodwill has continued to this day as the Navy Band was honored guest at the 1999 "Festival International de Musiques Militaires de Quebec" held in Quebec, Canada.
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Commander Charles Brendler |
In 1938 Bandmaster Charles Brendler was appointed as Assistant Leader, relieving Alexander Morris, who had been promoted to Warrant Officer and assigned as Assistant Leader at the Naval Academy Band. Anthony A. Mitchell, another future band leader joined the band that year and took his place in the clarinet section. Lt. Benter retired as the first leader of the Navy Band on January 1, 1942 and was succeeded by then Chief Musician Charles Brendler, who by virtue of Public Law 115, was eligible as leader of the Navy Band to assume the "rank of Lieutenant in the Navy."
Brendler was born in 1889 and at age 13 was already making $8.00 a week playing clarinet for the "John Wanamaker Boys Band." He joined the Navy in September, 1913 as a "Landsman Musician" assigned to the USS Florida with a monthly salary of $17.16 per month. He was transferred to the Washington Navy Yard Band in 1917 to fill the position of solo clarinetist. He quickly passed through the ranks and achieved the rank of Chief Musician in 1924. Brendler was among the original 63 Washington Navy Yard musicians when Congress created the United States Navy Band in 1925.
Lt. Brendler became leader of the Navy Band just as the United States was firmly engaged in World War II. With so many professional musicians facing the draft, Brendler seized the opportunity to request and increase the allowance of musicians for the Navy Band. The Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, who was authorized to approve an excess allowance of 14 members, did so and the Navy Band became 90 members strong. This temporary increase became permanent in 1945. During this era, the band acquired professionals from the big bands of the day and top symphony players who joined the new Navy Band Symphony Orchestra. The ability to play for dances, formal concerts and government functions greatly increased the band's effectiveness during these years. There were few concerts during the war and the annual tours were cancelled for the duration. The Navy Band was at Arlington National Cemetery daily for funeral services honoring Navy personnel.
Radio programs featuring the various groups in the band were broadcast to sailors and their families around the world. In 1945, The Navy Hour was born and continued through 1968, making it the longest running radio show in history. The first broadcast was on July 10, 1945 from Lisner Auditorium and featured Lt. Robert Taylor, USNR as Master of Ceremonies. Lt.j.g. Gene Kelly, USNR, joined Taylor to give dramatic tribute to the Submarine Service. All future broadcasts were done at the Sail Loft and followed a simple, effective format - music, guest stars and a short message delivered by a person of national importance.
The end of WWII brought changes to the Navy Band as many of the musicians who had enlisted during the war were discharged and returned to civilian careers. In addition, many career members of the band decided to retire and take advantage of the great demand for musicians in a music business that was booming. This loss of personnel led to the demise of the Navy Band Symphony Orchestra and put extra demands on the members of the concert band. Replacements for discharged and retiring members were quickly recruited from the fleet, and it was these dedicated musicians who would form the nucleus of the organization for the next 20 years.
Under the skillful management of Gib Sandefer, Navy Band tours resumed in 1948. Sandefer arranged two six-week tours a year for the band and used his unique talents to coax the most publicity out of each sponsor. The Navy Band was often greeted in towns across America with a parade and a proclamation by the town mayor declaring it "Navy Band Day." Sandefer instituted the practice of inviting local high school students to sit in with the Navy Band on a march, a tradition that is still followed today.
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United States Navy Band Symphony Orchestra at Departmental Auditorium, 1943, Cmdr. Brendler, Leader |
Americans were treated to some of the nation's most renowned soloists on Navy Band tours. Cornet soloist Oscar Short was a soloist with the Goldman and Pryor bands and the last cornet soloist of Sousa's band. He was also a member of the Boston Festival Orchestra and the first orchestra at Radio City Music Hall. Short was a featured soloist for over 20 years. Chief Musician Ben Mitchel Morris was one of the most outstanding tenor soloists ever to grace the stage of the Navy Band. A Chief Hospitalman during the war, he was heard singing at a wedding by the band's Chief Arranger, who immediately set an audition and Morris was hired. During his career with the band, Morris was featured on nearly every program and made over 30 national tours as well as performing on most every Navy Hour broadcast.
Navy Band leader Charles Brendler was the first musician to ever reach the rank of Commander and was justifiably proud of this unique achievement, and treasured the pen with which President Eisenhower signed the bill authorizing his promotion. He was held in high esteem by other bandleaders and was elected president of the American Bandmasters Association in 1954, joining such illustrious predecessors as Goldman, Fillmore, Sousa and Harding. He was also critically acclaimed for his concerts in the Washington, D.C. area, where he was often called the "Dean of present day band directors," and "Mr. Navy Music," and was even listed in the famous "Who's Who" directory.
The Sea Chanters were organized in 1956 by the band's assistant leader, Lieutenant Harold Fultz, to perform at the State of the Nation dinner at the Statler hotel. The unit's original 16 members were actually instrumentalists from the Navy's School of Music, located in nearby Anacostia. An immediate success, this all-male chorus was given the named "Sea Chanters" by then-Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Arleigh Burke, and the ensemble was transferred to the Navy Band to perpetuate the musical tradition of the sea chantey - working songs sung by sailors of the "tall ships." The unit remained an all-male chorus until 1980 when it welcomed its first female members and became a mixed chorus.
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Humoresque (1955 recording by the United States Navy Band Symphony Orchestra)Peter Tchaikovsky |
