May 13, 2006 – A chunk of rarely heard musical history was played out Friday night on the stage of the Bertha C. Boschulte auditorium as the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Band performed the music of Alton A. Adams and others to an almost full house. While some of the musical numbers were familiar to the audience, including the "Virgin Islands March" and the "Governor's Own March," at least one piece may not have been played in the Virgin Islands in 75 years.
The concert – performed by what master of ceremonies Mark Clague referred to as the "president's band" – was the culmination of a three-day colloquium on Adams' life held at the school. (See "American Bandmasters Membership Finally Extended to Alton Adams at Colloquium Celebrating his Life").
In introducing piccolo soloist Christina Bayes' performance of Adams' "Warbling in the Moonlight," Clague said he believed it may have been as long ago as the late 1920s that the piece was last performed – by Adams himself – in the Virgin Islands. An assistant professor of musicology at the University of Michigan currently editing Adams' memoirs, Clague said the difficulty of the piccolo piece, as testified to by Bayes' remark that it was "very hard," was a testament to Adams' musical abilities.
"Adams was a self-taught flautist," Clague said. As a very young man Adams ordered a piccolo for $1.50 and a method book for another 60 cents. Clague quipped that a lot had come out of that $2.10.
As Bayes performed the intricate , fast-paced piece, both Bayes' and Adams' talent was obvious.
It was no doubt Adams' talent and tenacity that led him to becoming the first black Navy bandleader.
Clague said much of the music from the first part of the concert was that of contemporaries of Adams, two of whom were also black composers and band leaders, including Joseph William Postlewaite and William Christopher Handy, known as W.C.
Adams was acquainted with both of these men as he was with John Phillip Sousa, whose music was also part of Friday night's performance.
Another less familiar Adams composition, "Spirit of the U.S. Navy," was written in 1924. Clague said Adams had expected to play the piece for the first time in front of then President Calvin Coolidge. The death of Coolidge's son prevented that, but Adams did play the piece for Theodore Roosevelt "and shook his hand," Clague said.
Clague suggested that another Adams piece, "Caribbean Echoes," a waltz, may have been used to serenade a loved one – as was the custom in the islands during Adams young life. Adams was born in 1889 and died in 1987.
The hour-and-a-half concert concluded with "Anchors Aweigh," written 100 years ago this year by Lt. Charles A. Zimmerman. It was played for the first time publicly at an Army-Navy football game – that the Navy won, Clague said. The piece brought the audience of about 900 people to their feet.
The evening ended with a second standing ovation as the Navy band performed "Stars and Stripes Forever" as an encore.
In his closing remarks Clague said it was Adams' belief that "musical talent ran deep in the islands." He challenged the audience to not only use the Alton Augustus Adams Music Research Institute on St. Thomas as a tool for studying the musical history of the Virgin Islands but also as a repository for the history they may find in their own families.
He said anyone with a family member who made music should bring pictures and memorabilia to the institute where it could be copied and retained for posterity.
The free event was sponsored by the Alton A. Adams Sr. Family Trust, John A. Foster, First Bank, Michael A. Simmonds Co., Cardow, American Airlines, Banco Popular, ATN, Marriott Frenchman's Reef, International Capital & Management Co.
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