A Grand Band Concert

Washington University honors 1904 World’s Fair with performance by Saint Louis Wind Symphony Oct. 17

One hundred years ago, the eyes and ears of the world turned to St. Louis — and the newly built campus of Washington University — for the 1904 World’s Fair.

1899 Campus Plan
The 1904 Worlds Fair sprawled across Forest Park and the newly constructed campus of Washington University. Pictured is an 1899 rendering, by Hughson Hawley, of Cope and Stewardson’s proposed plan campus masterplan.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, Washington University will honor that centenary with a performance by the Saint Louis Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dan Presgrave, instrumental music coordinator in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences.

A Grand Concert of Band Music Performed at the 1904 World’s Fair will feature a representative sampling of music heard at the fair, including works by Philip Sousa, Peter I. Tchaikovsky, Johann Strauss, Jr., and Carl Maria von Weber. Timothy Myers principal trombonist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, will appear as euphonium soloist.

The concert is free and open to the public and takes place in Brookings Quadrangle, just west of the intersection of Brookings and Hoyt drives. Members of the audience are encouraged to bring lawn seating. Rain location is Graham Chapel, just north of the Mallinckrodt Student Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. For more information, call (314) 935-4841.

Program

“Music permeated the atmosphere of the Fair, but it was band music that truly predominated,” said Sue Taylor, concert coordinator for the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences, who conceived and organized “A Grand Concert.” “And not just band music, but band music played by the best bands in the world.

“These included such noted ensembles as Weber’s Band, the Innes Band, Boston Band, the Berlin Band and, of course, John Philip Sousa’s world-renowned band,” Taylor added. “Concerts could be heard across the fairgrounds from morning to night, with 12,000 compositions performed over the months.”

Calendar Summary

WHO:St. Louis Wind Symphony, Dan Presgrave, director; Timothy Myers, soloist

WHAT: A Grand Concert of Band Music Performed at the 1904 Worlds’ Fair

WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17

WHERE: Washington University’s Brookings Quadrangle

COST: Free

INFORMATION: (314) 935-4841

A Grand Concert will include pieces originally composed for band as well as transcriptions of songs and orchestral works popular at the time. The program, selected by Presgrave, will open with Sousa’s Hands Across the Sea, followed by the Finale from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. Also on the program are Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltzes and an arrangement of Carl Maria von Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet, the latter performed with 11 clarinet soloists.

The performance by Myers, who has appeared as euphonium soloist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, will include arrangements of then-popular Irish and Italian songs. (The euphonium, a band instrument similar in shape to the tuba but higher in pitch, was highly prized at the time of the fair, and frequently employed for dazzling, virtuosic solos.)

Detailed program notes — including descriptions of each piece and the dates and names of bands that performed them — are provided by Richard (Ph.D. ’82) and Iris Schwartz, authors of the recently published Bands at the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904: Information, Photographs and Database.

Washington University and the 1904 World’s Fair

The Fair, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was conceived by Washington University classics Professor Sylvester Waterhouse and other early supporters as a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Though it arrived a year late, the exposition was a resounding success, attracting 20 million visitors to St. Louis and the participation of 60 foreign countries and all but two states.

Fairgrounds sprawled across the western half of Forest Park and onto the university’s then-newly constructed Hilltop Campus, which Robert S. Brookings, president of the board trustees, had leased to organizers for $750,000. Those funds enabled the university to supplement its initial cluster of five buildings — University (now Brookings) Hall, Busch Hall, Cupples I and II, and Liggett (now Prince) Hall — with four additional structures: Ridgley Library (now Ridgley Hall), Tower Hall, Eads Hall and the David R. Francis Gymnasium, the latter host to the 1904 Olympic Games.

Brookings Quadrangle, site of A Grand Concert, is ringed by four of those structures, all of which played significant roles during the fair. Brookings Hall served as chief administration building. Busch Hall housed architects and engineers. Cupples I hosted American ethnological exhibits. And Ridgley, particularly its reading room (now Holmes Lounge), was a focal point for such gala activities as a West Point cadet ball and a display of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee gifts..