Patrick Gilmore: Short Biography

John Phillip Sousa, a famous band composer and conductor, considered the father of the American band tradition to be Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. Patrick Gilmore was born in Ireland on December 25, 1829. He immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1849, where he became a famous cornet soloist and bandleader. In 1857, before the American civil war, Gilmore founded the Gilmore Band, which featured two woodwind players to every brass player and established the concert band instrumentation, used by most bands today. Gilmore also used a pseudonym, Louis Lambert, under which he composed many songs which are well know among band enthusiast’s including, Good News from Home, We are Coming Father Abraham, Seeing Nellie Home, and the 22nd Regiment March. One of his most known and famous works was written in 1863, when Gilmore and the unit he was attached to returned to Boston from New Orleans during the Civil War. This famous song is titled, When Johnny Comes Marching Home.

Historically, Gilmore and the wind band were present for the celebration of many different events throughout the United States History. He was the director in charge of music at the July fourth Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He provided musical support at and during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. His group was featured at the opening of an amusement park at the Manhattan Beach Hotel and also the St. Louis Exposition. The tradition of greeting of New York City’s, New Year’s celebration can also be traced back to Gilmore and his band performing in Times Square to bring in and celebrate the New Year for the first time in 1888. His band toured Europe in 1878 and also toured extensively throughout the United States until he passed away in 1892. It is also very interesting that one year before his death, Gilmore collaborated with Thomas Edison to produce the first commercial recordings of the American wind band.

In 1969, Michael Cummings of Milton, Massachusetts formed the Patrick S. Gilmore Society in Boston. Cummings, like Gilmore, was a native of Gilmore’s Ireland birthplace. Cummings formed the Gilmore society to make the American public aware of the music and contributions of Gilmore. The society has hosted band concerts on the Boston Esplanade, where bands from across the New England region are attracted to perform.

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