Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • FALL 2016 • sai-national.org 14 N O P S T U X Y Z Today, no one would think twice about a female student playing in band. Historically, though, female band musicians faced numerous obstacles to their participation. When school bands first began in the United States in the early 20 th century, they were modeled aer the famed touring bands of Patrick Gilmore, John Philip Sousa, and others. ese professional bands were all male in their membership; the only female musicians were featured soloists such as a vocalist or a performer on a non-band instrument, such as a harpist, violinist, or pianist. 1 e attire of the soloists drew attention to their femininity, while the rest of the band was outfitted in military-style uniforms. 2 While there were separate all-female bands in the late 19 th century, there was strong resistance to the idea of male and females in the same ensemble. Reasons for not admitting females to the Musicians Union included, "ey do not look pretty playing brass. Also, women cannot be depended upon to work hard, rehearse regularly, or meet similar requirements." 3 World War I had a large influence on school band being a male-only activity. In 1918, high school bands in Chicago were organized as part of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. 4 Because only male students could be part of the military, female students were not allowed in the band. When the first National School Band Tour- nament was held in Chicago in 1923, the event organizers made no provisions for housing female students. Since the local Chicago school bands only had male students, it was assumed the prac- tice was universal. 5 When the war ended, many former military musicians found employment teaching school band. ese teachers oen modeled their band programs aer the ones from their own experi- ence. us, band oen continued as a male only enterprise. 6 By the mid 1920s, female band stu- dents began to become more common, but not without obstacles. Some schools offered separate boys and girls bands, such as St. Raymond's, in Joliet, Illinois 7 and Fostoria High School in Ohio. 8 Lake View High School in Chicago added female students to its band in 1929, but not without stipulations. e female students were required to supply their own instruments, and they could not play with the band in "outside activities." 9 Collegiate marching bands had been all-male from their beginnings, and it took World War II for some of them to open their doors to female students. e draing of male students created a situation where many bands lacked enough mem- bers to perform. UCLA, USC, Ohio University, and the University of Minnesota were among the schools that included female students during this time. In most cases, the bands returned to all- male membership once the war ended. It was not a war, but a campus flu epidemic that led to the University of Texas' marching band admitting female members. With the important 1957 Texas/Oklahoma football game on the ho- rizon, female musicians were asked to fill in for sick male band members. With their hair tucked under their Stetson hats, the audience was unable to notice anything different. e performance was a success, and female members became a perma- nent part of the Longhorn Band. 10 Some universities featured two separate marching bands, one for male students and one for females. e University of Minnesota was one such school to go the two-band approach. e uniforms for each group were similar, though the female band uniforms was supposed to em- phasize femininity. Minnesota's director wrote of how care had to be taken, so that the female band's performance was "ladylike." 11 Other uni- versities that used a separate, all-female marching band included Ohio University, Kent State, Iowa State, Oklahoma A and M, and the University of Colorado. 12 It was not until the Title IX legislation of the Higher Education Act of 1972 that female membership in collegiate marching bands be- came universal. 13 While female students gradually became more common in school bands, the director The Challenges Women Faced in Band A LOOK BACK Picture of John Philip Sousa Band from 1911. The only female musicians in the picture are in the front row, violin soloist Nicotine Zederer and Virginia Root, soprano. Sousa is to the right of Root. Picture of Charlotte Plummer Owen, in her Marine Corps Reserve Band uniform, from World War II. The Road They Took Some schools offered separate boys and girls bands ... Lake View High School in Chicago added female students to its band in 1929, but not without stipulations. The female students were required to supply their own instruments, and they could not play with the band in "outside activities."

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