In 1915 the well known composer Camille Saint-Saëns composed Hail Columbia for band, orchestra and organ for the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. But by and large the concert band programs were filled with transcriptions for band of piano and symphonic music particularly overtures from opera. Some European band composers were responsible for tuneful overtures and waltzes such as Czech composer Julius Fücik. The only real contribution was in the field of marches where there was an enormous proliferation. Original music for band was available in vast quantities from publishers as early as 1851(Groves), but unfortunately most of the material was boring and dull. The first real breakthrough came in 1909 when Gustav Holst composed the British band classic First Suite in Eb which has become a staple in the band library. Band music in the form of concert band repertoire and military band journals of band music were evident in the early eighteenth century.
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