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David Wallis Reeves (1838-1900), often known as D. W. Reeves, was an American composer, cornetist, and bandleader. He developed the American march style, later made famous by the likes of John Philip Sousa, and his innovations include adding a countermelody to marches, in 1876. Sousa called Reeves "The Father of Band Music in America", and stated he wished he himself had written Reeve's Second Regiment Connecticut National Guard March. (Charles Ives later borrowed from the Second Connecticut on two occasions.)

Reeves was born on February 14, 1838 in Oswego, New York. In the early 1850s, he joined the Oswego band as an alto horn player, but soon moved to cornet, the instrument he would become famous for. He occasionally performed with Jules Levy, another famous cornetist of the period. In 1871, he married Sarah Blanding. Blanding had a daughter from a previous marriage, and they were later to have a son they named David W. Reeves, Jr.

Reeves was a cornetist with the Dodworth Band of New York before being recruited by the American Brass Band of Providence, Rhode Island in 1866. He joined the ensemble on February 17, and was elected its leader on April 9. His initial compensation was $600 per year, plus the proceeds of one concert, in return for which he agreed to conduct the band on all occasions. He eventually added woodwinds to the formerly all-brass band, which became known as Reeves' American Band. It was known as one of the best marching bands in the country during his tenure. In 1892, he accepted the directorship of Patrick Gilmore's Twenty-Second New York Regiment band after Gilmore's death, but returned to the American Band after a year. Later in the 1890s, he served as a judge for the New York Volunteer Firemen's Association's band competitions.

In 1878, Reeves led a performance of H. M. S. Pinafore, using a boat for the stage, which Arthur Sullivan took note of.

Early in 1900, he contracted Bright's disease. He died on March 8, 1900. His funeral service took place at the First Baptist Church in America, where he had frequently led the American Band as part of Brown University's Commencement ceremonies, and included a performance of his Immortalis by the American Band. Sousa sent 200 roses in his memory. He was buried at Swan Point Cemetery with Masonic honors.

By the time of his death, he had composed over 100 works.

References

1. ^ History of the American Band
2. "U.S. Army Bands in History: Civilian Bands Replace Military Bands". Archived from the original on July 21, 2007.
3. ^ Federal Writers' Project, Rhode Island (1937). Rhode Island: a guide to the smallest state. North American Book Dist LLC. p. 167.
4. ^ James Cutler Chesebrough, "The marches of David Wallis Reeves: Performance editions of three marches dedicated to Connecticut organizations" (January 1, 2005). Dissertations Collection for University of Connecticut. Paper AAI3180191. http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/AAI3180191
5. Feder, Stuart (April 1980). "Decoration Day: A Boyhood Memory of Charles Ives". The Musical Quarterly. 66 (2).
6. Gould, Neil (2008). Victor Herbert: a theatrical life. Fordham University Press. pp. 68–69.
7. "American Brass Band records". Rhode Island Historical Society. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
8. Fonder, Mark (Spring 1992). "The Patrick Conway Military Band School, 1922-1929". Journal of Research in Music Education. 40 (1): 64.

External links

• Free scores by David Wallis Reeves at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Recordings of D. W. Reeves' music on the National Jukebox
• D. W. Reeves sheet music at the Library of Congress

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