Band Recordings
Columbia University Symphonic Band
The Columbia University Band Brunswick Record label
On February 25, 1933, the Columbia University Symphonic Band held their first ever concert at Carnegie Hall. The eighty-piece band was under the direction of Harwood Simmons, Columbia College 1925 and associate professor of Music. The event was broadcast live on WOR radio from 8:30 to 10:00 pm.
The Band had completed recording some Columbia songs for the Brunswick Company a few weeks before the concert. The phonograph records by the University Band were on sale in the Carnegie Hall lobby that night and later on campus at John Jay Hall. Below are some selections from the Brunswick record.
You can find more information about the Columbia University Symphonic Band concert and the Brunswick record in the student newspaper, the Columbia Spectator.
For more Columbia-related digitized audio and video materials, please visit our Media page.
Roar, Lion, Roar; Sans Souci
Stand Up and Cheer; Marching Song
National Emblem
The Stars & Stripes Forever
Columbia's concert band on stage, photo by White Studio (Scan 3036) Historical Photograph Collection, University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.
Columbia University band rehearsing at the Casa Italiana, 1950s (Scan 3035). Historical Photograph Collection, University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.