BANDS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: AN HISTORICAL REVIEW, 1908-1978

Bands at the University of Colorado traces the development of that program from its origin in 1908 through 1978. Issues concerning the Colorado program are discussed in each chapter and comparisons are made with the university band movement throughout the twentieth century in the United States. These issues include the overall growth and functional changes of the band, the instrumentation developments of the ensembles, and the repertoire trends of the band. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of the concert music aspect of the total program.;The large Concert or Symphonic Band became, and always remained, the core of the program. Marching band, a second large concert group, jazz ensembles, and a little concert band were eventual additions to the curriculum. Experiments involving instrumentation in the large band, and the programming of contemporary wind-band compositions by the Symphonic and Little Concert bands gained a reputable image nationally for Colorado. The literature performed by the Little Concert Band remained fundamentally the same type as that of the larger groups.;Women were admitted into the Concert Band in 1940 because of the need for additional woodwind players. The Marching Band remained all male until 1974. Band directors played a major role in the music education curriculum at the University, controlling that program and teaching almost all the instrumental music education classes until 1978.;The Colorado band history paralleled national trends. It is colorful, eventful, and is associated with interesting personalities. The program had a positive effect on the relatively isolated Rocky Mountain region and provided the profession with a long-term band director who spent his entire career building a significant program at one university.;The Colorado band program can be historically and developmentally divided into three major periods. The first of these occurred from 1908 to 1929 when the band functioned as a football pep band. The second period, from 1929 to 1937, contained the band's development as a concert music entity. From 1937 to 1978 a comprehensive program evolved and was sustained under the leadership of Hugh E. McMillen.