BANDS. Paid professional instrumental groups of any size, but restricted to woodwinds, brasses, and percussion, bands primarily played outdoor concerts and provided march music for parades. Until ca. 1840, Cleveland had virtually no organized bands that could qualify as professional. Among the easterners who settled the area, there were invariably amateur musicians to handle holiday celebrations, weddings, funerals, and dances. In this early era bands were hardly more advanced than the fife-and-drum groups of Revolutionary War times, according to O. V. Schubert, author of a handwritten and hand-illustrated book, "A Brief Sketch of Cleveland's Noted Bands from 1840 to 1880." Schubert was the son of B. B. (Ben) Schubert, who was born in Austria and was a cousin of the famous composer Franz Schubert.
By 1837 the Cleveland City Band, which then had 18 members, had already been formed. In 1840 B. B. Schubert organized the City Grays Band, with 2 trumpets, 2 French horns, ophicleide, clarinet, flute, drums, cymbals, and slide trombone. Its first performance was held on PUBLIC SQUARE—the favorite place for band concerts at that time and the center of Cleveland's public activities. Schubert also organized the German Guards Band in 1845. One of the early important figures in Cleveland bands was JACKSON MILLER LELAND. First mention is made of him in 1844 in connection with the maiden voyage of the steamboat Empire. In providing the entertainment for the passengers, Leland's band demonstrated its versatility, for it was also for many years the leading marching band in Cleveland. To lead parades and processions, the colorful Leland bought a handsome bandwagon, which was later purchased by P. T. Barnum for use in circus parades. In 1848 the Jaeger Band was organized, and in 1850 Hecker's Band was noted as a favorite at public and private functions. Visiting bands were also part of the local musical diet. As early as 1851, "Dodsworth's Celebrated Cornet Band," consisting of 20 members, visited Cleveland for a concert in Melodeon Hall, and in 1852 the Newark Band visited and got good local reviews.
During the Civil War, the various bands enlisted, but not necessarily for the duration. Heck's Band joined the 4th Michigan Regiment. Jack Leland's Band returned from the war in June 1862 but left again in Nov. of that year to join the 14th Ohio Regiment. By the next May, however, it was back in Cleveland giving park concerts. Leland evidently distinguished himself as a composer of band music. In Feb. 1863, the display window in Brainard's music store featured the "Seventh Regiment March," composed by Leland and dedicated to Col. William R. Creighton of the Ohio 7th. Gradually other men became prominent in the field. Clark's Forest City Cornet Band was organized in 1863. E. Hatfield, John Messer, Geo. Burt, Wm. Heydler, and Joseph Ballhouse all organized their own bands; but a glance at the few rosters available shows that frequently the players were interchangeable. The chief differences in the bands were the leaders and the uniforms.
With the growth of the city in the latter half of the century, largely through the influx of immigrants from Central Europe, the number of bands expanded accordingly. In 1877 the Bohemian musician J. Mudra reorganized Carl Braetz's 10-year-old Great Western Band, which was to achieve and hold prominence through the early part of the 20th century under the direction of FRANK HRUBY, another Bohemian, who took over in 1889. Under the latter's leadership, the band of 35-50 players played both locally and for national political conventions. On 4 July 1894, the Great Western Band played for the dedication of Public Square's SOLDIERS & SAILORS MONUMENT. GERMANS, one of the city's first major immigrant groups, always had in their midst some sort of "German Band" that could conveniently stretch itself from a small beer-hall outfit to one of marching and concert size. These, like the Czech and Italian bands that followed, were mostly amateur groups, though it was by no means rare for individual players to rise to professional status to join the established general-purpose bands. Visiting bands continued to be popular in the post-Civil War period. In 1871 Marble's Band of Akron played at the corner of Superior and Bank streets; it went on excursio