Joseph John Richards
Encyclopedia
Joseph John Richards was a composer, conductor, and music educator best known for writing over 300 compositions for circus and school bands. His most successful works were marches
, including Crusade for Freedom, Emblem of Unity, and Shield of Liberty.
Richards was born in Cwmavon
, Wales
, but spent most of his childhood in Peterson
, Kansas
, United States
. He began playing alto horn
and cornet
at the age of ten and became director of the Norton-Jones Circus Band at the age of nineteen. He would later play for and conduct several other circus bands, including the Barnum and Bailey Circus Band and the Ringling Brothers
Band before they combined. When not playing for a circus, Richards studied music at Kansas State Teachers College and the American Conservatory of Music
.
He began teaching music during World War I, first to Army bands and later to public schoolchildren. He conducted several municipal bands in Florida
and Kansas until 1945 when he was selected to succeed Herbert L. Clarke
as conductor of the Long Beach
, California
Municipal Band. He became a member of the American Bandmasters Association
in 1936 and was elected president in 1949.
Richards died in Long Beach, California in 1956. He was inducted into the Windjammers' Hall of Fame in 1981.
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
, including Crusade for Freedom, Emblem of Unity, and Shield of Liberty.
Richards was born in Cwmavon
Cwmavon, Torfaen
Cwmavon is a small village located near the towns of Abersychan and Blaenavon in the county borough of Torfaen, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.- Rural setting :...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, but spent most of his childhood in Peterson
Peterson, Kansas
Peterson is an unincorporated community in Finney County, Kansas, United States. Peterson is northwest of Holcomb....
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He began playing alto horn
Alto horn
The alto horn is a brass instrument pitched in E...
and cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
at the age of ten and became director of the Norton-Jones Circus Band at the age of nineteen. He would later play for and conduct several other circus bands, including the Barnum and Bailey Circus Band and the Ringling Brothers
Ringling brothers
The Ringling brothers were seven siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of America's largest circuses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in McGregor, Iowa and raised in Baraboo, Wisconsin, they were the children of Heinrich Friedrich August Ringling...
Band before they combined. When not playing for a circus, Richards studied music at Kansas State Teachers College and the American Conservatory of Music
American Conservatory of Music
The American Conservatory of Music was a major American school of music founded in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt . The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It was located in Chicago until 1991 when its Board of Trustees — chaired by Frederic Wilbur Hickman...
.
He began teaching music during World War I, first to Army bands and later to public schoolchildren. He conducted several municipal bands in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Kansas until 1945 when he was selected to succeed Herbert L. Clarke
Herbert L. Clarke
Herbert Lincoln Clarke was a well-known American cornet player, feature soloist, bandmaster, and composer....
as conductor of the Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Municipal Band. He became a member of the American Bandmasters Association
American Bandmasters Association
The American Bandmasters Association was formed in 1929 by Edwin Franko Goldman to promote concert band music. Goldman sought to raise esteem for concert bands among musicians and audiences...
in 1936 and was elected president in 1949.
Richards died in Long Beach, California in 1956. He was inducted into the Windjammers' Hall of Fame in 1981.