A conversation with Col. John R. Bourgeois, USMC (ret.) 25th Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and Professor Emerita Paula Crider. This session will delve into the early years in Louisiana that influenced his development and led to his becoming a Marine musician and his 40-year service. The session will include important musical and political events, samplings of the band’s early history of past directors, and relevant visual images from the Colonel’s collection.
John Bourgeois
- Biographical Information
Director Emeritus Col. John R. Bourgeois, USMC (Ret.), was 25th Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. His acclaimed career spanned 9 presidential administrations, from Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bill Clinton. Bourgeois is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans. He joined the Marine Corps in 1956 and entered “The President’s Own” as a French hornist and arranger in 1958. Named Director of Band in 1979, he was promoted to colonel in June 1983. He retired from active duty in 1996. He is past president of ABA, chairman of the board and past president of NBA, president of the John Philip Sousa Foundation, and American vice president of the International Military Music Society. He has served on the boards for WASBE and the Association of Concert Bands. Among the many honors and awards he has received are the 1986 Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Bandmaster Award and the 1987 Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to Music Award for “contributions to the growth and development of modern college and university bands.” In 1993, he was awarded the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic Medal of Honor. He was elected to the Academy of Wind and Percussion Artists of the National Band Association in 1988 and received the 1991 Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia National Citation “for service and dedication to music and country.” Since retiring, he has been actively involved in music as a guest conductor, has published new editions of classic band compositions, and is a visiting professor in a chair endowed in his name at Loyola University in New Orleans.
Following a distinguished 33-year teaching career, Paula Crider continues to share her passion for making music as guest conductor, lecturer, clinician and adjudicator in the US and abroad. She is Professor Emerita at The University of Texas, where she was twice awarded for distinguished teaching. She has taught in the public schools at all levels, and holds the unique distinction of having been the first female in Texas to serve as director of bands at a class 5-A high school. She presents seminars throughout the US. She serves as coordinator for the NBA Young Conductor/Mentor Program, is Educational Consultant for Conn-Selmer, and was recently appointed to the Midwest Clinic Board. She is a Past President of NBA and ABA. She has written numerous articles for The Instrumentalist, The Band Director’s Guide, and National Band Association Journal, and manuals for brass techniques, marching band methods and instrumental conducting. She is co-author for the Masterwork Studies series (Hal Leonard) and author of The Conductor’s Legacy (GIA). Awards and honors include the Tau Beta Sigma/Kappa Kappa Psi “Outstanding Service to Music Award,” Sudler “Legion of Merit,” Women Band Director’s International Rose, Grainger Society Medal, Kappa Kappa Psi Bo Makvosky Memorial Award, National Band Association AWAPA Award, 2004 Texas Bandmaster of the Year, Phi Beta Mu Hall of Fame, and Midwest Medal of Honor. She considers her greatest honor to be the privilege of working with all who share a passion for excellence in making music.