Patrick Gilmore
Patrick Gilmore (1829-1892)
Patrick Gilmore, "The Father of the American Band", was an Irish born cornetist and conductor, who settled in Boston. He was the conductor of the 24th Massachusetts Regiment Band during the Civil War and after the war he was band master for bands in Boston and New York. Patrick Gilmore established the standard for all military bands and reestablished the woodwind instruments in the band (for a while the bands were just brass bands). He was a showman as well as a musician and thought about what the audience wanted to hear. Many soloists were featured on each concert. John Philip Sousa had a great deal of respect for Patrick Gilmore and followed Gilmore's examples when he created his own band. Gilmore died three days before the Sousa Band's first concert.
Patrick Gilmore also wrote the words to "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".