Join Sousa Archives Director Scott Schwartz in a discussion of the history of the 505th Air Force Band of the Midwest.
Archivist for Music and Fine Arts and Sousa Archives Director, Scott Schwartz, will discuss the legacy of the 505th Air Force Band of the Midwest through historical documents, photographs, and sound recordings and then talk briefly about the Sousa Archives’ new exhibitions, “The Imperfect Saxophone: Not Just a Clown’s Instrument” and “American Bandmasters Association’s Little Light: Austin Harding’s Legacy during the Great Depression.”
The 505th Air Force Band of the Midwest, a multi-faceted military band, was constituted September 24, 1941 and formally activated October 1, 1941 as the Air Force Band, Chanute Field, Illinois (later Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois). The band traces its origin to an unofficial post band founded at Chanute in 1918. It was first designated as the 5th Army Air Forces Band on August 10, 1942 and re-designated multiple times, finally becoming known as the 505th Air Force Band of the Midwest on September 26, 1947. Operating for nearly 50 years, the unit was disbanded as part of a reduction in the number of Air Force bands and ahead of the closure of Chanute Air Force Base in 1993.
Conveniently located at the corner of Race and Green in downtown Urbana.
