Francis Scala, US Marine Band Leader

In a previous post, I named Claudio S Grafulla as the leader of the Marine Band. That is incorrect, Grafulla was the leader of the 7th N.Y. Regimental Band. William Hall was kind enough to forward to me a copy of Francis Scala obituary which contained some interesting facts about Scala and the Marine Band.

Scala was born in 1819 in Naples and came to the U.S. in 1839. He went to Washington in 1842 and became the leader of the fife corps and the eventially the leader of the band when brasses were added. The band increased from 12 to 25 members under his leadership and gained a national reputation.  Scala continued as the first and only leader of the Marine band for the next 25 years. He resigned in 1871 . He died in 1903 leaving a wife and 11 children.

During the Lincoln presidency he composed for the band and at the wedding of Kate Chase to Senator Sprague at the White house , the band played two of his compositions a waltz and a polka which were dedicated to Kate Chase.

Mr. Hall has also informed me that my favorite march “Washington Grays “was written for the 8th N.Y. Regiment which wore gray uniforms. My thanks to Mr. Hall for the correction and the information about Francis Scala.

U.S.M.C. Band Concert

I have been a bandsman since the 1940s, but up until last Friday, I had never seen or heard the United States Marine Band (The Presidents Own) I had studied the band and in particular, its role in the Civil War when Claudio S Graffula was the director and John Phillip Sousa’s father played trombone. I can recall a photo of the band during the Civil War, when John Phillip, then a lad of about 4 years stood beside his dad.

As I sat in the audience in Fond du Lac Wisconsin and listened to musical perfection, I could not help but wonder how the band in 1862 would stack up against this band in 2008. I am sure the 1862 band was far superior to the Regimental bands of the period, but against the 2008 band, I dont think they stand a chance.

With me at the concert was Dan Woolpert, who directed the 1st Brigade Band for over 2 decades. We were in awe of the musical talent we were witnessing. In particular the woodwinds caught our attention and I must say that when the piccolo section came out to play their refrain it sounded like 1 piccolo. On the Classical selections, the woodwinds were perfection.

All in all, it was an evening I will never forget. You could try and listen for a mistake or a cracked note in the French Horn solo, but there was none.

If you ever get a chance to hear the U.S. Marine Band, dont pass it up. It is band music at its very best.