Essays on the history of bands in America from ca. 1820 to 1930, offering new insights on a major sphere of music making that brought diverse repertories to wide audiences.

IntroductionBryan Proksch and George ForemanPart I. Inflection Points1. P. S. Gilmore's 1864 Visit to New Orleans: Prelude to the Boston Peace JubileesGeorge Foreman2. "The Most Skilled Combination of the Kind in the World:" The Kaiser-Cornet-Quartett in the United States, 1872Eric Roefs3. From Gilmore to Sousa: How One Legendary Bandmaster Gave Rise to AnotherDave Detwiler4. Conn's "Wonder" Years: Artist Endorsement Posters, 1885-1899Margaret Downie Banks5. "Conditions Certainly are Rotten": The Demise of the Sousa Band (1926¿1931)Bryan ProkschPart II. Reappraisals6. The Early Works of Francis Johnson (1792-1844)Colin Roust7. The Manchester Cornet Band Repertoire of the 1850sMichael O'Connor8. Soldiers or Artists? Civil War Musicians and the Band in Nineteenth-Century AmericaJames A. Davis9. Francesco Fanciulli: A Family RecollectionSteve Bornemann10. Alice Raymond: "America's Greatest Lady Cornetist"Patricia Backhaus and George ForemanNotes on ContributorsIndex