Roland Forrest Seitz (1867–1946) was an American composer, bandmaster, and music publisher. For his many march compositions he earned the sobriquet “The Parade Music Prince”.
Early life and education
He was born Roland Forrest Seitz on June 14, 1867, on a farm in Shrewsbury Township near
Glen Rock, Pennsylvania
Glen Rock is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,120 at the 2020 census.
History
The Glen Rock Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Glen Rock was founded on A ...
. He was the youngest of eight children of William and Magdalena Zeigler. Despite an early interest in music, Roland started work as a printer's apprentice at the weekly ''Glen Rock Item''. He joined the family band performing on the flute; and then the Glen Rock Band performing first on the euphonium and then the cornet. In 1894 at age 27, Seitz enrolled in the Dana Musical Institute in Warren, Ohio. (Dana is now part of
Youngstown State University
Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio.
The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...
). Roland graduated from Dana in 1898.
Career
Seitz returned to Glen Rock to teach wind and percussion as well as perform in the town band and soon became their conductor. By 1901, under Seitz, the band was selected to perform at 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, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...
in Buffalo, New York.
Beginning with ''New York Journal'' published in 1897, Seitz composed nearly fifty marches. One of these marches, ''Grandioso'' (1901), is often featured in parades. ''Grandioso'' incorporates a theme from the fourteenth of
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
’s
Hungarian Rhapsodies
The Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R.106 (french: Rhapsodies hongroises, german: Ungarische Rhapsodien, hu, Magyar rapszódiák), is a set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt during 1846–1853, and late ...
. Additional well-known marches include ''Brooke’s Chicago Marine Band'' (1901), ''Brooke’s Triumphal'' (1904), ''Salutation'' (1914), and ''University of Pennsylvania Band'' (1900). On November 21, 1930,
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...
conducted the University of Pennsylvania Band at the student quadrangle in Seitz's march for the band. Afterwards, Sousa said: "That is one of the best band marches, aside from my own productions, I have ever conducted".
Seitz also opened a music publishing business in Glen Rock. His catalog included compositions by many famous march composers including
W. Paris Chambers
William Paris Chambers (November 1, 1854 – November 13, 1913) was an American composer, cornet soloist, and bandmaster of the late 19th century.
Life and career
William Paris Chambers was born in Newport, Pennsylvania but spent most of his ea ...
George Rosenkrans George Rosenkrans (Jan 17, 1881-Aug. 18, 1955) was a noted American composer of concert band music. He was born in Penfield, Pennsylvania on January 17, 1881. His father was the music director of the local Methodist church, and George sang with the ...
, and
Charles Sanglea
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
. In 1908, Seitz became the first to publish seventeen-year-old
Karl L. King
Karl L. King (February 21, 1891 – February 19, 1971) was a United States march music bandmaster and composer. He is best known as the composer of "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite".
The most expensive painting in Iowa, the "Karl L. King Portrait ...
’s compositions. Roland’s company was purchased by
Southern Music
Peermusic is a United States-based independent Music publisher (popular music), music publisher.
History
Ralph Peer, a field recording engineer and Artists and repertoire, A&R representative for Victor Records, went on a scouting trip to Bristol ...
in 1964.
Seitz married Mattie A. in 1902. They had two children, Charlotte J. (1904-1999) and Nevin H. Seitz (1906-2003). Roland Seitz retired to live with his daughter Charlotte J. Zelley in
Union City, New Jersey
Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census the city had a total population of 68,589,