Collections
MF 011 Gordon Bowie Collection of R.
B. Hall /
Community Dance Bands of Maine
Number of
Interviews: 8
Dates when interviews were conducted: 1968-1993
Time period covered: 20th century
Principal interviewers: Gordon Bowie, Thomas C. Bardwell, Sr.
Finding Aides: transcripts
Access Restrictions: Accession 2261 & 2580 Restricted
Description: This collection includes interviews and
photographs compiled by Gordon Bowie relating to band music in
Maine, and leading to Bowie’s UM dissertation entitled R. B. Hall
and the Community Bands of Maine (May, 1993). Bowie and Bardwell
interviewed a series of musicians on the history of the Bangor Band
and dance music in the Bangor area; other topics include: Musicians
Union Local 768; dance music in Montreal and Boston before World War
II; radio; local theaters and dance halls; community band music in
Worcester, Massachussetts; Bangor Symphony; bands in Brewer, Corinna,
Newport, and Dexter, Maine; band organizer Paul Giles; R. B. Hall’s
Waterville Military Band. Also included, in accession 2580, is a
typescript first draft of Bowie’s dissertation discussing discusses
significance of R. B. Hall’s contribution to band music, history of
Hall’s involvements with bands in Bangor, Waterville and Albany, New
York, context of community bands, and specific Hall compositions.
2049 Bowie, Gordon W. (AY 325) Spring 1988. Maine: Bangor.
33pp. Tape: 1 hour with transcript. First in a series of interviews
with musicians concerning the history of the Bangor Band and dance
music in the Bangor area. On this tape Merlin “Pete” Rogers,
age 84, talks about his life and music. Topics include Musicians
Union Local 768; dance music in Montreal, Boston, etc. before World
War II; performing for local theaters, dance halls, radio.
P6441-6454 / C572.
2050 Bowie, Gordon W. (AY 325) Spring 1988. Maine: Bangor.
38pp. Tape: 1 hour with transcript. Part of Bowie’s series on the
history of the Bangor Band and dance music in the Bangor area.
Leo C. Thayer, age 69, discusses his musical career. Topics
include community band music, community music activities in
Worcester, Massachusetts and Bangor, Maine. P6441-6454 / C573
2051 Bowie, Gordon W. (AY 325) Spring 1988. Maine: Bangor.
38pp. Tape: 1 hour approx. with transcript. Third in a series of
interviews on the history of band and dance music in the Bangor
area. Samuel Viner, age 79, talks about his life as a
musician. Topics include Musicians Union Local 768, the Bangor
Symphony, local radio. P6441-6454. C574.
2052 Bowie, Gordon W. (AY 325) Spring 1988. Maine: Bangor.
35pp. Tape: 1 hour with transcript. Last in a series of interviews
about the history of the Bangor Band. Samuel D. Wyman, Jr.
talks of the various bands in the surrounding towns including
Brewer, Corinna, Newport and Dexter; band organizer Paul Giles;
music and attitudes before and after World War II. Also includes
copies of newspaper clippings and a program from a 1934 performance
of the Bangor Band. P6441-6454. C575.
2228 Bowie, Gordon W. Spring 1992. Maine: Fairfield. 56pp.
Tape: with transcript. A pair of interviews made by Thomas C.
Bardwell Sr. on April 24, 1969. The informants, Arthur F. Roundy
and James A. Varney, were the last surviving members of R.B.
Hall’s Waterville Military Band. (see NA 2049-2052) C857.
2261 Bowie, Gordon W. 1968, 1969. Maine: Fairfield, Brunswick
and Cherryfield. 96pp. Tape: 4 with transcripts. Interviews made by
Thomas C. Bardwell Sr., with Arthur F. Roundy, James A. Varney,
Charlie Wakefield and Robert Hoe, on various dates in
1968 and 1969. The interviews focus on R.B. Hall’s works and band
association. RESTRICTED. C959 - C962.
2262 Bowie, Gordon W. 1992 Maine: Cape Elizabeth. 73pp. Tape:
2 with transcript. An interview with Ralph T. Gould on the subject
of community bands in Maine, amateur music and R.B. Hall. Contains
papers and letters pertaining to Mr. Gould’s musical philanthropies
and activities. RESTRICTED. C963 - C964.
2580 Bowie, Gordon. 1993. Maine: Bangor, Waterville; New
York: Albany. 369 pp. A first draft typescript copy of Gordon
Bowie’s Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Maine, entitled "R.
B. Hall and the Community Bands of Maine" (May, 1993). Dissertation
discusses significance of R. B. Hall’s contribution to band music,
history of Hall’s involvements with bands in Bangor, Waterville and
Albany, New York, context of community bands, and specific Hall
compositions. The paper draws from both primary and secondary source
materials, including interviews with surviving band members. Relates
to other accessions deposited by Bowie. See NA 2049; NA 2050 - NA
2052; NA 2228; NA 2261 - NA 2262. RESTRICTED: Not to be
photocopied without author’s permission as this work has presumably
been superceded by the dissertation itself.
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