George Drumm

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George Drumm
Born1874
Erdesbach, Germany
DiedDecember 16, 1959
Dobbs Ferry, New York, United States
The fanfare and trio sections of George Drumm's "Hail, America", performed by the U.S. Marine Band in 2011.

George Drumm (1874 – December 16, 1959) was a

United States government
ceremonies since the 1950s.

Life and career

Born in

St. Louis World's Fair. Among the performers in that group was the noted Irish tenor John McCormack. At the end of the engagement, Drumm elected to remain in the United States. He settled in New York City where he worked as the bandmaster at a theater in the Bronx and guest conducted at several Broadway venues. Drumm was naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1911.[2][3]

In 1917 Drumm composed "Hail, America" as part of an apparent effort to rebut questions as to his national loyalty following the

1917 United States declaration of war on Germany.[4][1] According to Drumm, he wrote the march while riding the New York City Subway.[5] Its first public performance was the following year during a park concert in New York City.[1][4]

In 1935, Drumm was named the best bandmaster in the United States by the

In later years Drumm lived in Irvington, New York. He died in 1959 in nearby Dobbs Ferry, New York, seven months after his wife, Caroline. He had two children. During his lifetime, Drumm held membership in the Royal Irish Academy of Music and in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).[6][7][2]

References

  1. ^
    Evangelical Church in Germany. Archived from the original
    on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. ^
  3. ^ a b c "George Drumm, Composer". German National Tourism Bureau. Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  4. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ "Mrs. George Drumm Collapses and Dies". Irvington Gazette. March 26, 1959. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  6. ^ The Moving Picture World. The World Photographic Publishing Company. 1912.