Author Bruce Gleason, along with panelists Matt George, Sarah Schmalenberger and David Williard will host a convo hour discussion and book signing for Sound the Trumpet, Beat the Drums: Horse-Mounted Bands of the U.S. Army, 1820 – 1940 on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 from Noon to 1:15 pm in the Great Hall on the second floor of the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

As noted by reviewer Colonel Sam Young, editor of The Cavalry Journal, Bruce P. Gleason’s book, Sound the Trumpet, Beat the Drums, is an “awesome, informative, and educational” look at horse-mounted bands.  It traces their origins and traditions of rallying troops and frightening enemies beginning with the Celtic and Roman cavalries of old, to the mounted Middle Eastern musicians whom European Crusaders encountered in the Holy Land, through the American mounted bands that served from the 1820s through the beginning of World War II.   Over time the composition of the bands changed – beginning with trumpets and drums and expanding to full-fledged concert bands on horseback.

Bruce Gleason, faculty member in the St. Thomas department of music, is a former army musician and has been studying the history of the world’s mounted bands for several decades resulting in 30+ published articles.  He will share slides and sounds highlighting the main features of his new book.   He will be accompanied by a panel of faculty members of the music and history departments who will bring their own expertise and perspectives to the discussion. 

Matthew George is Professor of Music, John Ireland Distinguished Professor, Director of Bands and Orchestra and Chair of the Department of Music.  Appearing as a guest conductor throughout the world, he regularly works with professional orchestras and bands as well as festival groups of all ages. He is sought internationally to sit on adjudication panels and has done so for such events as the National Concert Band Festival of Great Britain, the Chinese National Band Festival, the Shanghai International Music Festival, the St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, Ireland and the Certamen de Valencia in Spain.

Sarah Schmalenberger is a musicologist and hornist whose research has spanned topics from Russian opera, African -American women in classical music, Frank Zappa, and breast cancers effect on women musicians.  A busy freelancer, she also directs the Swing Sisterhood Big Band. 

David C. Williard is a historian of the United States with a particular interest in the Civil War and Reconstruction.  He is at work on a book titled Confederate Legacy: The Problem of Soldierhood in the Post-Civil War South, has a chapter titled "An Ideology Beyond Defeat" in Paul Quigley, ed, The Civil War and the Transformation of American Citizenship, and has published articles on Reconstruction in state criminal courts in the Journal of the Civil War Era and Journal of Southern History.  He teaches courses in modern United States history, the Civil War era, United States military history, slavery, emancipation, and civil rights, and violence in American history.

Dr. Gleason has written a tremendous reference book that gives an unparalleled account of mounted military bands and their cultural significance.   We hope you will join us!

All are invited and welcome to attend!   Refreshments provided and books will be available for purchase.