Patrick "Patsy" 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 the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

, 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 bord ...

as an infant. He learned to play cornet 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 the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

, Conway was recruited by the judges (including music educator

Hollis Dann Hollis Ellsworth Dann (May 1, 1861 – January 3, 1939) was an American music educator and choral director during the early twentieth century. Early life Dann was born in Canton, Pennsylvania to a musical family and studied music in Boston befor ...

) to relocate to Ithaca in 1895. He served as director of the

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

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 fo ...

) 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, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

) 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,

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

, Cincinnati Zoo,

Corn Palace The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. The Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the mu ...

Willow Grove Park Willow Grove Park was an amusement park located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania (the part which is in Abington Township), United States, that operated for eighty years from 1896 until the 1975 season. It was generally an alternative to the Woods ...

, 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 ...

, Atlantic City, 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 with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'', 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 bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, Gilmor ...

and

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 dis ...

. 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. 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 Patric ...

(first director of the U.S. Air Force Band) 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 M ...

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

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 war ...

while at

Camp MacArthur Camp MacArthur (or Camp McArthur) was an American military training base in Waco, Texas during World War I. It was named for General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. Arthur MacArthur Jr. (June 2, 1845 – September 5, 1912) was a lieutenant general of ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

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

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

References

External links

Patrick Conway recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Patrick 1865 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians 19th-century 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