Into the Archives: The Founding and Evolution of the College Band Directors National Association as Shown by its Archives at the University Maryland

Abstract

In 1941, William D. Revelli, the Director of Bands at the University of Michigan, sent a letter to college band directors throughout the United States encouraging them to attend the first meeting of the University and College Band Conductors Conference (UCBCC) at the Congress Hotel in Chicago on December 22-23, 1941. This letter included the topics that would be discussed at this meeting including Policies and Philosophies of the Marching Band, Band Budgets, Financing the Commencement Band, and more. After this initial meeting, the plan was to meet again the following year, but because of complications due to World War II, the organization did not meet again until 1946. In 1947, it was moved that the UCBCC change its name to the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). All this information is found in the documents of the National Conference Proceedings of The Performing Arts Special Collections archives at the University of Maryland, which is home to many historical documents. This dissertation is an exploration of the contents of the CBDNA National Conference Proceedings from its foundation in 1941 to 2011. These contents include administrative records, correspondence and information bulletins, membership listings, financial records, committee reports, surveys, questionnaires, publications, articles, conference programs and proceedings, photographs, and oral histories. This document explores the history of the CBDNA and its development according to what is included in these archives. This is not a comprehensive history of the CBDNA, but a compilation and description of the documents stored in the Special Collections at the University of Maryland. The dissertation is organized into decades and discusses the priorities of National Conference Proceedings throughout each decade.