Patrick Conway (July 4, 1865 – June 10, 1929) was a prominent American bandleader during the golden era of professional bands. He often was referred to as Pat Conway or Patsy Conway.

Early life

Conway was born in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

, but moved to

Homer, New York Homer is a town in Cortland County, New York, United States of America. The population was 6,405 at the 2010 census. The name is from the Greek poet Homer. The town of Homer contains a village called Homer. The town is situated on the west b ...

as an infant. He learned to play

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

as a young man while working in a carriage factory, joining the popular Homer Cornet Band and eventually becoming leader of the Cortland Band.

The Ithaca Band

After a successful appearance by the Cortland Band at the 1894 Central New York Volunteer Fireman’s Association convention in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

, Conway was recruited by the judges (including music educator Hollis Dann) to relocate to Ithaca in 1895. He served as director of the

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Cadet Band (predecessor of the

Cornell Big Red Marching Band The Cornell Big Red Marching Band is the only corps style marching band (as opposed to a scatter band) in the Ivy League. It performs at all home, and most away, Cornell Big Red football games. In addition, the band has performed at halftime f ...

) from 1895 to 1908. He also began teaching students at the new Ithaca Conservatory of Music (predecessor of

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

) at a time when teaching band music and brass instruments was uncommon. Conway formed the Ithaca Band in 1895 and brought the ensemble to national popularity and acclaim. By around 1910, the ensemble came to be known as Conway's Band or Patrick Conway and His Famous Band. In Ithaca, they had a standing contract with the trolley company to perform at Stewart Park (then Renwick Park), but extensive tours brought them around the country to the

St. Louis World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mill ...

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

Cincinnati Zoo The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the second oldest zoo in the United States, founded in 1873 and officially opening in 1875. It is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It originally began with in the middle of the ...

, Corn Palace,

Willow Grove Park Willow Grove Park was an amusement park located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. It operated for eighty years, from 1896 to 1975. It was the main competitor to Woodside Amusement Park in Fairmount Park until its closure. The park originally wa ...

, the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a world's fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park–Front Park System, Delaware Park, extending ...

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

, Oaks Amusement Park, and the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Many members of Conway's band had substantial success beyond the band, such as Lincoln Holroyd, Getty H. Huffine, Ernest Williams. Conway and the Ithaca Band made many recordings on the Victor and Edison labels. In 1927, they played on the premiere of the '' General Motors Family Hour'' radio show. In the stage and film productions of ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'', set in 1912, character Harold Hill mentions Conway in the introduction to " Seventy-Six Trombones" alongside other famous bandleaders like

Patrick Gilmore Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish-born American composer and military bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, ...

and

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...

. All three were inaugural members of the National Band Association Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Conductors in 1980.

Conway Military Band School

In 1922, sensing the waning popularity of professional bands, Conway founded the Conway Military Band School in affiliation with the

Ithaca Conservatory of Music Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

. It was among the first schools of its kind in the country. Students included

George S. Howard Colonel George Sallade Howard (February 24, 1902 – September 18, 1995) was commander and conductor of The United States Air Force Band between 1947 and 1963. Life and career A native of Reamstown, Pennsylvania, Howard became a student of Patri ...

(first director of the

U.S. Air Force Band The United States Air Force Band is a United States military bands, 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- ...

) and Les Brown (noted bandleader). Conway led the school until his death in 1929 following a prostate operation. The school was merged into Ithaca College in 1931 and laid the foundation for the college's strong band tradition.

Other work

When not touring with the Ithaca Band, Conway conducted the

Syracuse Symphony Orchestra The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra (SSO) was a 79-member orchestra located in Syracuse, New York. In its time it was the 43rd largest orchestra in the United States and performed a variety of programs including the Post-Standard Classics Series and ...

from 1910 to 1916 and also led the pit orchestra for a theater in Syracuse. In

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he received a captain's commission and led musical activity for the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

while at Camp MacArthur in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

. This was the first band program for the predecessor of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

References

External links

Patrick Conway recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Patrick 1865 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians American bandleaders American cornetists American male conductors (music) Ithaca College faculty Musicians from Troy, New York People from Homer, New York United States Army personnel of World War I United States military musicians