Anthony A. Mitchell (August 26, 1918 – January 20, 2009), born Antonio Alberto Miceli, was an American

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

ist, composer and conductor who led the

United States Navy Band The United States Navy Band, based at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., has served as the official musical organization of the U.S. Navy since 1925. The U.S. Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of U.S. government, pe ...

from 1962 until his retirement from the Navy in 1968. He was a prolific composer of

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

, including "Our Nation's Capital", the official march of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Early life

Mitchell was born on 26 August 1917 in

Clearfield, Pennsylvania Clearfield is a borough and the county seat of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 5,962 people, making it the second most populous community in Clearfield County, behind DuBois. The borough ...

, the eldest of twelve children. His parents were Sicilian immigrants who changed the family name to Mitchell a year after his birth. Mitchell began playing the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

at age five and soon added the clarinet. His first teacher was his father, who had encouraged his interest in music. Although a painter and decorator by trade, his father was a skilled musician and the leader of the Clearfield town band. In 1936 the nineteen-year-old Mitchell enlisted in the US Navy and moved to Washington D.C. to study at the newly established Navy School of Music. After graduating with honors two years later, he was accepted into the US Navy Band as a clarinetist. In 1945 he became the clarinet soloist for the band,''

Tri-City Herald The ''Tri-City Herald'' is a twice-weekly newspaper based in Kennewick, Washington, United States. Owned by The McClatchy Company, the newspaper serves southeastern Washington state, including the three cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland ...

'' (May 3, 1964)
"Clarinetist to Direct Navy Band"
. Retrieved July 27, 2011. and the following year graduated from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

with a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

degree.

Crash

Early on in his career with the Navy Band, Mitchell became their dance band's leader (then a separate unit) and moved into conducting. For some time after World War II, he also was the conductor and musical director of a weekly television broadcast featuring leading artists of the day. By 1956, he had risen to the rank of

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

, was promoted to Third Leader, and began conducting the Navy Band on many of its national tours. In early 1960 Mitchell and band were on a Presidential tour of South America dubbed "Operation Amigo" when on 25 February the band experienced its worst tragedy. 19 members of the band's string section, including its assistant director, were traveling on a Navy

R6D The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete wit ...

transport plane en route to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

for a presidential reception between Brazilian President

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. Kubitschek's government plan, dubbed "50 years i ...

and U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

when the plane collided on final approach with a Brazilian airliner over

Guanabara bay Guanabara Bay (, , ) is an oceanic bay in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lie the cities of Rio de Janeiro (city), Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, a ...

. The crash killed all 19 members of the band including Lt. Johann Harold Fultz, the assistant director. Mitchell was originally supposed to be on board that aircraft, but was spared when Lt. Fultz said, 'Mitch, I don't need you tomorrow. Why don't you stay here?' Following the crash the band was ordered to continue their tour without change. The band members were devastated by the loss, and many quit upon returning to the States. The Band's leader of 20 years, Cdr. Charles Brendler, retired from the Navy in 1962. Mitchell was his personal choice to replace him. On the day Mitchell assumed his post (February 26, 1962), he led the US Navy band in Washington's official welcome to astronaut

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...

Band leader

In 1963 the Navy Band under Lt. Anthony "Mitch" Mitchell's leadership recorded ''The National Cultural Center Presents the United States Navy Band'' for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. The LP was the Navy's contribution to a unique four album set featuring each military branch band—the first time the bands had released their recordings commercially.''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' (May 4, 1963)
"JFK Gets 1st Band Disks"
p. 1 Organized by the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

, the special release was to raise funds for the National Cultural Center in Washington D.C. (renamed the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in 1964). In June 1963, the Navy Band's album entered the

Top 40 album chart. It was re-released on CD in 2009. During his time as Band Leader, Mitchell conducted the Navy Band's daily performances on the east steps of the U.S. Capitol, as well as their weekly Monday night concerts at the Capital. Mitchell led the band on national tours, including its first ever performance at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

in 1966. He also founded an annual Washington Area Soloist Festival for young musicians, and introduced a series of children's concerts. For his initiatives to bring music to young people, he received an honorary Doctor of Music Degree from

Saint Francis University Saint Francis University (SFU) is a private Catholic university in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1847 and conducted under the tradition of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. The university is situated ...

. His numerous compositions included "Our Nation's Capital", the official march of the District of Columbia, and the "National Cultural Center March" (later renamed the "John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts March") which was played during fund-raising events for the center and later at its inauguration.

Retirement

Mitchell retired from the navy on December 30, 1968, with the rank of lieutenant commander. After his retirement, he worked as a music teacher in a

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

as well as serving as a music education adviser and music competition judge. He celebrated 63 years of marriage with his wife, Helen Rittenhouse Mitchell, before she died at age 87 in the spring of 2005. Mitchell died at the age of 91 on January 20, 2009, of complications from

lupus Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...

. He was survived by his five children and ten of his brothers and sisters. One of his younger brothers had also played for the Navy Band (as a trumpeter and singer), and another was for many years the clarinet soloist for the

US Air Force Band The United States Air Force Band is a U.S. military band consisting of 184 active-duty members of the United States Air Force. It is the Air Force's premier musical organization and is based at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. Wi ...

Discography

References

External links

*
Our Nation's Capital
, played by the U.S. Navy Band {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Anthony A. 1917 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American classical composers American classical clarinetists American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American male jazz musicians American jazz bandleaders American people of Italian descent American big band bandleaders Catholic University of America alumni Classical musicians from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania American male classical composers Military music composers Military personnel from Pennsylvania People from Clearfield, Pennsylvania RCA Victor artists Swing bandleaders United States Navy officers United States Navy sailors 20th-century American male musicians