One hundred years ago, the eyes and ears of the world turned to St. Louis — and the newly built campus of Washington University — for the 1904 World’s Fair.
At 3 p.m. Oct. 17, the University will honor that centenary with a performance by the Saint Louis Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dan Presgrave, instrumental music coordinator in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences. The Brookings Quadrangle concert is free and open to the public.
A Grand Concert of Band Music Performed at the 1904 World’s Fair will feature a representative sampling of music heard at the fair, including works by John Philip Sousa, Peter I. Tchaikovsky, Johann Strauss Jr. and Carl Maria von Weber. Timothy Myers, principal trombonist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, will appear as euphonium soloist.
“Music permeated the atmosphere of the fair, but it was band music that truly predominated,” said Sue Taylor, concert coordinator for the music department, who conceived and organized A Grand Concert. “And not just band music, but band music played by the best bands in the world.
“These included such noted ensembles as Weber’s Band, the Innes Band, Boston Band, the Berlin Band and, of course, John Philip Sousa’s world-renowned band,” Taylor added. “Concerts could be heard across the fairgrounds from morning to night, with 12,000 compositions performed over the months.”
A Grand Concert will include pieces originally composed for band as well as transcriptions of songs and orchestral works popular at the time. The program, selected by Presgrave, will open with Sousa’s Hands Across the Sea, followed by the “Finale” from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.
Also on the program are Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltzes and an arrangement of Carl Maria von Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet, the latter performed with 11 clarinet soloists.
The performance by Myers, who has appeared as euphonium soloist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, will include arrangements of then-popular Irish and Italian songs. (The euphonium, a band instrument similar in shape to the tuba but higher in pitch, was highly prized at the time of the fair and was frequently employed for dazzling, virtuosic solos.)
Detailed program notes — including descriptions of each piece and the dates and names of bands that performed them — are provided by Richard (a 1982 alumnus) and Iris Schwartz, authors of the recently published Bands at the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904: Information, Photographs and Database.
The fair, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, was conceived by WUSTL classics Professor Sylvester Waterhouse and other early supporters as a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Though it arrived a year late, the exposition was a resounding success, attracting 20 million visitors to St. Louis and the participation of 60 countries and all but two states.
Fairgrounds sprawled across the western half of Forest Park and onto the University’s then-newly constructed Hilltop Campus, which Robert S. Brookings, president of the Board of Trustees, had leased to organizers for $750,000.
Those funds enabled the University to supplement its initial cluster of five buildings — University (now Brookings) Hall, Busch Hall, Cupples I and II halls and Liggett (now Prince) Hall — with four additional structures: Ridgley Library (now Ridgley Hall), Tower Hall, Eads Hall and Francis Gymnasium, the latter host to the 1904 Olympics.
Brookings Quadrangle is perimetered by four of those structures, all of which played significant roles during the fair. Brookings Hall served as chief administration building; Busch housed architects and engineers; and Cupples I hosted American ethnological exhibits.
And Ridgley, particularly its reading room (now Holmes Lounge), was a focal point for such gala activities as a West Point cadet ball and a display of Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee gifts.
Those attending the concert are encouraged to bring lawn seating. The rain location is Graham Chapel.
For more information, call 935-4841.