The Twenties
1920
Director Frederic L. Reynolds '20, Manager P. K. McElroy '20,
Drill Master F. W. Hall '20, Drum Major F. L. Reynolds ' 20.
Personnel of 60 includes two wooden piccolos, a curved soprano
sax, a small D trumpet, a C-sax and a bari sax. Women are
given the right to vote.
1921
Director Frederic L. Reynolds '20, Manager J. D. Chase '22,
Drill Master F. W. Hall '20, Drum Major F. L. Reynolds ' 20.
Band leads "snake dance" against Yale. Successful concert
season includes third annual concert and dance at Union, and
spring trip to Atlantic City and Baltimore. First network
radio broadcast originates from Boston.
1922
Director Addison Simmons '24, Manager A. Simmons '24, Drill
Master A. Simmons '24, Drum Major A. Simmons '24. James Joyce
publishes Ulysses. Band performs first military maneuvers.
Concerts include Tchaikovsky's F minor Symphony and Grieg's
"Sigurd Jorsalfar" Suite.
1923
Director Addison Simmons '24, Manager A. Simmons '24, Drill
Master A. Simmons '24, Drum Major A. Simmons '24. Instrumentation
includes two alto horns but still no sousaphones. First motion
picture with sound appears. Addison Simmons '24, after filling every
senior staff position for two straight years, disappears and is
never heard from again.
1924
Director Ambrose F. Keeley '27, Manager W.H. Kilman '25, Drill
Master A. Keeley '27, Drum Major A. Keeley '27. First free
transportation and tickets to Yale and Princeton games away.
Seventy-five men in Band. Gershwin writes Rhapsody in Blue.
First sousaphone appears.
1925
Director Ambrose F. Keeley '27, Manager F.B. Hill '26, Drill
Master A. Keeley '27, Drum Major A. Keeley '27. First use of
popular music. New tryout system is developed. Scopes is put
on trial for teaching evolution. Concerts attempt to "bring
to the Harvard graduates in New England cities the atmosphere
of the football field." Leroy Anderson '29 joins the Band as
a trombone player.
1926
Director Ambrose F. Keeley '27, Manager R. Piper '27, Drill
Master A. Keeley '27, Drum Major A. Keeley '27. First recording
made, for Victor Records, includes "Up the Street." Two
xylophones and two banjos used as gimmicks at Dartmouth game.
First concert at New York Harvard Club before Yale game.
First aerosol spray can appears.
1927
Director Harold Holland '28, Manager S. Ganz '28, Drill Master
H. Holland '28, Drum Major H. Holland '28. First big Bass Drum
acquired at meeting of Associated Harvard Clubs in Philadelphia.
Wright Briggs, later conductor and arranger, joins as a clarinet
player. Charles Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic.
1928
Director Harold Holland '28, Manager W.E. Roys '29, Drill Master
H. Holland '28, Drum Major H. Holland '28. First Band radio
broadcast, from Roseland Ballroom in Boston, on December 4th.
Amelia Earhart flies across the Atlantic. Guy Slade '32, later
drum sergeant, director, and drill master, joins as a piccolo
player.
1929
Director Leroy Anderson '29, Manager L.F. Hubbard '31, Drill Master
L. Anderson '29, Drum Major L. Anderson '29. Band travels to Ann
Arbor, Michigan, to support football team. Malcolm Holmes '28, later
conductor, joins as a bass drum player. Stock market crashes on
"Black Tuesday."
