Major Contributors
Robert Hoe, Jr., benefactor
This encyclopedia is an outgrowth of research begun by the late Robert Hoe, Jr.,
producer of the Heritage series of LP band records (see separate article).
Robert Hoe, Jr. (Robert Hoe V) was a descendant of Robert Hoe (I), who emigrated
from England in the early 19th century and founded a company which manufactured
printing presses. A brother of Robert Hoe (I), Richard M. Hoe, joined the
company and invented the Hoe Rotary Press (patented 1847). This was a great improvement
over other presses of the day and became the foundation of the newspaper publishing industry.
Robert Hoe, Jr. was born in New York City on January 15, 1922, and was a lifelong
resident of Poughkeepsie, New York, except for brief residencies in Florida and
California. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College in 1943,
and he played euphonium in the band. He also took one course in music theory
but claimed that the only benefit received from the course was in meeting his wife-to-be,
Marilyn Cannon. Bob and Marilyn were married in Glendale, California, on August
15, 1942.
In his youth, Bob underwent eight operations in unsuccessful attempts to correct
a mastoid problem. He had a minor hearing problem and was exempted from military
service during World War II. After graduating from Pomona, he worked first
as a slagger and later as a pit master clerk at Kaiser Steel in Fontana, California.
Just before the end of World War II, he and Marilyn moved to Poughkeepsie, where
he established the Hoe Corporation, an architectural woodworking firm. The
firm prospered to the point where it was one of the largest companies of its kind
in America. For several years, he was president of the Architectural Woodwork Institute,
a trade organization.
The Hoe Corporation was dissolved in 1964 so Bob Hoe could devote full time to a
bowling business which he had acquired several years earlier. The new corporation,
named Mardi-Bob after his wife and children, operated six bowling facilities at
one time.
Bob Hoe always had a keen interest in band music, particularly marches. While
amassing a varied collection of band recordings, he also acquired copies of much
of the sheet music which the bands had used for making the recordings. For
recreation, he would play along with the recordings, often using the same types
of instruments used by the musicians in the bands.
The Heritage series of records, as discussed elsewhere in this encyclopedia,
became an extension of Bob Hoe's great love of band music. The biographical
information on the record jackets, volunteered by band scholars around the world,
formed the nucleus of this encyclopedia. Eighty-four of Hoe's own biographies
are included herein.
After an illness of two years, Robert Hoe, Jr. died on February 16, 1983. In
the process of producing his recordings, he created an international fraternity
of band music lovers, which he affectionately called his "clan." The friendships formed have been
lasting friendships. The recipients of his generosity have been grateful for
being introduced to one another, as well as for being introduced to a vast amount
of forgotten music.
His monumental efforts in behalf of bands became legendary, and he received numerous
honors. Among them were his election to associate membership in the American
Bandmasters Association in 1971, receiving an honorary doctorate from Central Methodist
College in 1978, and receiving the Outstanding Contributor to Bands award from Phi
Beta Mu in 1982.
Robert Hoe, Jr., is survived by a daughter, Polly Diane, and a son, Robert (VI),
both attorneys and business executives, and by his wife, Marilyn. The family
created the Robert Hoe Foundation in 1983 for the purpose of furthering the cause
of band music, and the publication of this encyclopedia has been its most ambitious
project to date.
For more information, see The Legacy of Robert Hoe, Jr.
William H. Rehrig, author
William H. Rehrig was born on June 10, 1939, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His
father, a trumpet soloist, was a member of such celebrated organizations as the
Philadelphia Orchestra and Conway's Band. His mother was a violinist with
several noted orchestras. After attending public schools in Philadelphia,
he earned Bachelor of Science in Education (1961) and Master of Education (1967)
degrees at Penn State University, where he played trumpet in the marching and concert
bands and was chief band librarian.
He has taught instrumental music in the schools of Baltimore County, Maryland, for
over thirty years and retired as band director at the Franklin Middle School in
Reisterstown in 2001. As a musician, he has performed with numerous bands
and orchestras, including the Virginia Grand Military Band. He arranged many
pieces for the Heritage series of records, and one of his school bands was
represented on the series. As a researcher, he organized and cataloged thousands
of unprocessed band publications at the Library of Congress, under the sponsorship
of Robert Hoe, Jr.
Bob Hoe selected Rehrig to organize, for future publication, data on the jackets
of the Heritage series of records. This material was expanded by several
orders of magnitude for this encyclopedia.
Rehrig and his wife, Toni, are active in community and church affairs. He
currently serves as principal of the Trinity Lutheran Middle School, in Joppa, Maryland.
They have two daughters, Mary and Lydia, and three grand children.
Paul E. Bierley, editor, Volumes 1, 2, and 3
Paul E. Bierley, son of a shoe cobbler and a temperance worker, was born on February
3, 1926, in Portsmouth, Ohio. He attended public schools there, playing drums,
trumpet, and tuba in school bands and orchestras and playing tuba with the Wheeling
Steel Band. After serving two years in the U.S. Army Air Force, he attended
Ohio University and Ohio State University, graduating from the latter with a degree
in aeronautical engineering in 1953. He was an airplane and missile designer
with North American Aviation for nineteen years and spent the final fifteen years
of his engineering career with another aerospace manufacturer, Ellanef Manufacturing.
Active in music again after an absence of 13 years, he was became tubist with the
Columbus Symphony Orchestra (1965-1981), the Detroit Concert Band (1973), the World
Symphony Orchestra (1972), the Brass Band of Columbus (1984-1996), and the Hallelujah
(now Village Brass) Brass Quintet (1984-1996), was assistant conductor of the North
American Aviation Band (1961-1976), and has performed with many other bands and
orchestras.
As a researcher and writer, his books on John Philip Sousa and Henry Fillmore are
considered standards in their field, and he is also active as a lecturer and clinician.
He founded Integrity Press, which publishes books on American band historical
subjects, in 1982. He is the recipient of several awards and holds memberships
in over a dozen music organizations.
His wife, Pauline, has assisted in all of his writing and publishing endeavors.
Their daughter, Lois, is an aviation historian and author, and their son,
John, is an insurance analyst and semiprofessional musician.
William R. Baker
Most of the eighty-four biographies of the late William R. Baker had been prepared
as jacket notes for the Heritage series of records and were adapted for this
encyclopedia. He was, in fact, the most productive supplier of information
for that series. The depth of his research is evidence that he made use of
many tools available to seasoned historians.
Baker was born on June 29, 1924, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he spent his
youth. He attended public schools there and played euphonium in numerous area
bands. After serving four years in the U.S. Navy, he attended Northeastern
University in Boston, receiving a master's degree in electrical engineering.
Baker enjoyed farming and fishing as hobbies and also performed with the Kentish
Guards, a Rhode Island Militia band.
Yoshihiro Obata
Yoshihiro Obata was born on May 26, 1937, in Kebe, Japan. He began the study
of organ at age eleven and clarinet at fourteen. At Himeji-Nishi High School,
he founded a band (1954) and became its conductor, graduating in 1957. He
played clarinet in the band at the Tokyo University of Arts, the first college band
in Japan. After graduating in 1961, he came to the United States for study,
receiving a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in
1963. He was clarinetist with the Tokyo Concert Band from 1963 to 1965 and
then returned to the United States, receiving a Ph.D. degree at Michigan State University
in 1974.
Obata was a professor of music and director of the orchestra and wind ensemble at
Florida International University, meanwhile guest-conducting and presenting clarinet
recitals and clinics in fourteen countries. Also an author, he has written
three books and many articles and has translated numerous works into the Japanese
language. He contributed twenty-nine biographies to this encyclopedia.
Obato and his wife, Sharon, currently reside in Miami, Florida. They have
two sons, Paul and Jenji.
Werner Probst
Most of Werner Probst's twenty-three biographies were extracted from those he wrote
for the Heritage series of records. Although not a professional musician,
he has a consuming interest in quality band music and band composers. He has
written many articles for magazines and music journals, specializing in German and
Austrian music subjects.
Probst was born on November 10, 1938, in Schweinfurt, Germany, and attended schools
there. He worked for a Schweinfurt ball bearing company in 1959, leaving for
service in the German Luftwaffe. After two tours with NATO units, he returned
to civilian life. Presently, he works at the German Ministry of Defense in
Bonn.
James W. Herbert
James W. Herbert, who contributed eighteen biographies, was born in Omaha, Nebraska,
on June 18, 1939. He received degrees from the University of Nebraska, the
Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University and was founder and first director
of the bands at Temple University. He studied conducting with Jonel Perlea.
His doctoral dissertation was entitled, The Wind Band of 19th Century Italy:
From Its 17th Century Origins to Mid-Century.
Herbert has had a distinguished career as a professional musician. He was
principal trombonist with the Cities Service Band of America and Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians
and has performed extensively with recording studio, radio, television, and Broadway
show orchestras and bands. He was also a member of the Radio City Music Hall
Symphony Orchestra.
Well known as a music educator and guest conductor, he is past president of the
Pennsylvania Collegiate Bandmasters Association and was chosen by the School Musician magazine as one of America's ten most outstanding music directors.
Loren D. Geiger
A biography of Loren D. Geiger, who contributed twelve biographies to this encyclopedia, is found in this encyclopedia by doing a SEARCH on "Geiger".
Harrington E. “Kit” Crissey
Harrington E. “Kit” Crissey, Jr., was born in Schenectady, New York, on February
21, 1945. After spending his childhood in upstate New York and suburban Philadelphia,
he enrolled at the University of Rochester, where he received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in classical languages in 1966. While there, he participated in the
marching band (president and drum major), concert band, and Baroque ensembles, concurrently
studying horn with Milan Yancich at the Eastman School of Music. Crissey served
with the United States Navy (1966-1969),and played with the Charleston, (South Carolina)
Symphony and the Guam Wind Ensemble during his years of service.
After earning a Master of Education degree in Teaching English as a Second Language
at Temple University in 1974, he embarked on a career in that field. Since
1989, Crissey has taught at English Language Services (ELS), an adjunct program
at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Concurrently, he served in the
Naval Reserve for 30 years, retiring with the rank of commander.
Crissey began producing concerts under the name Crissey Concerts in 1988.
There have been three different concert series sponsored by Crissey Concerts:
(1) solo and chamber music by contemporary Philadelphia composers, (2) music by
Eastman composers played by Eastman graduates, and (3) Russian and Soviet band music
performed for the Soviet émigré community in the Philadelphia area.
Since marrying former Russian figure skater and choreographer Yelena Sergeeva in
1992, he has immersed himself in band music research as a hobby. The fact
that his father-in-law was a Red Army baritone horn player and bandmaster kindled
Crissey’s in Russian and Soviet band music. His interest also extends to the
band music of other foreign countries. Freshening the band repertoire in North
America by acquainting people with works that are virtually unknown in this part
of the world has led him to amass a specialized collection of sheet music and recordings
of these works. Providing biographical information and background material
on compositions is his secondary interest.
Other Contributors
The author and editor are indebted to the following scholars who contributed biographies
for this encyclopedia:
- Brad Glorvigen (6)
- Arthur W. Lehman (5)
- Polly Diane Hoe (3)
- Frank Kowald (3)
- Francis Pieters (3)
- Cynthia Sterling (3)
- George Foeller (2)
- Herbert N. Johnston (2)
- Miroslav Blaha (1)
- Edward Brennan (1)
- Penny Carson (1)
- Peter Gallo (1)
- Carol Edwards Griswold (1)
- Odd Isachsen (1)
- Christer Johannesen (1)
- Johann Kielder (1)
- George M. Meiser IX (1)
- Peter Newcomb (1)
- Alfred E. Reed (1)
- George Stein, Jr. (1)
- Laverne J. Wagner (1)