Fred K. Huffer (January 1, 1879 – August 28, 1943) was an American early 20th century

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor.

Early life

Born into a musical family, Fred Huffer's father was an accomplished violinist and orchestra conductor. Huffer's music education was established early in his life. The Huffer family moved to

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...

in 1889. At age sixteen, Fred played E-flat alto horn in the local band. Moving back to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1899, Fred played in various bands in the city.

Career

In 1901, the Ringling Brothers Circus came to Chicago. Finding out they were auditioning for a baritone player, he tried out and got the job, and went on the road with the circus, catching the "circus fever." For the next eight years, he played with various shows. Along the way, he met Kate Jeronimus and they were married. No children were born from their union. After eight years, the Huffers were back in Chicago. Fred took a job with a large plumbing equipment manufacturer; Crane Company as the leader of the company band. For his two years at Crane, Fred also worked and advised Chicago suburban bands. Upon leaving Crane Company in 1911, he formed his own band: "Huffer and His Band." He was successful for several years. When the First World War broke out, he had now devoted his time into composing while conducting several bands in the Chicago area. During the war, he wrote many songs and marches, his most famous being " Black Jack March" in honor of General Pershing in 1917. After the war, he continued his composing and for a period was a staff arranger at harry L. Afford's custom arranging house in Chicago. By 1937, he entered the Masonic order and led the band of the St. Bernard's Commandery. He also was the assistant director of the Medina Shrine Band.

Works

During his circus years, he was influenced to write a few works, his most lasting is a ''Slick Slide'' style subtitled "A Trombone Tone Poem." It was in the traditional style of

Henry Fillmore Henry Fillmore (December 3, 1881 – December 7, 1956) was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader, best known for his many marches and screamers, a few of which he wrote for the Band of the Hour at the University of Miami in ...

and was published by Dixie Music Company in 1917. During World War One, Fred Huffer composed various song and march music. His most lasting march is "Black Jack March" in honor of General Pershing. Not as well known as John Philip Sousa, he nonetheless left an indelible mark on American music during the war, with his various works in the National Archives and Library, which includes such titles as: "Salute the Gang" and "If I Should Get a Cross for Bravery." Some of his other well-known works include: "Short'nin Bread"; "Ten Thousand Cattle" in the movie "My Darling Clementine" and again "Black Jack March" in the movie "Taps."

Death and legacy

After a long illness, he died on August 28, 1943. He is buried in

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huffer, Fred American composers American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American Freemasons 1879 births 1943 deaths American male composers