Hale A. VanderCook

Hale Ascher VanderCook (3 September 1864 – 16 October 1949) was a composer, conductor, and cornetist best known for his marches and brass solos. He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and began composing at the age of sixteen. He was performing in bands by the age of 14, and became conductor of the J.H. LaPearl Circus Band in 1891. He conducted circus and theater bands for much of the 1890s. VanderCook composed over 70 marches as well as numerous series for solo brass instruments. Among his most famous marches are American Stride, Olevine, Pacific Fleet, Pageant of Columbia and S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. He published his Course in Band and Orchestra Directing in 1916. VanderCook studied cornet with Frank Holton and A.F. Weldon. He founded VanderCook College of Music (originally called VanderCook Cornet School) in 1909. VanderCook composed scores of student-level solo works for the cornet and other brass instruments, often grouped into topical sets such as the Trumpet Stars (Arcturus, Orion, Vega, etc.), birds (The Warbler, The Starling, The Meadowlark, etc.) and flowers (Columbine, Peony, Chrysanthemum, etc.). Many of the solos were included in the curriculum of his mail order cornet cou