Salvation Army Houston, Texas, Gulf Coast Area Band History of Dan Ross

 We left Seattle and moved to Houston, Texas, so I could attend grad school. It was difficult to leave the kids behind that we had shepherd duty over for three years. After we had been in Houston for awhile, J.D. Hopps sent us this photo of him leading the Young People's Band we had formed at the Seattle Temple Corps. Most corps in the United States would have given their eye teeth to have a band like this in ANY capacity in their corps.

J.D. Hopps was the perfect leader for this band. When J.D. was 14 years old, he was old enough to become a Senior Soldier in the Salvation Army. That meant he was finally old enough to play in a Senior Band. He played in the Senior Band in Joliet, Illinois. The best indicator of the level of musicianship attained by J.D. Hopps is that at the age of 14, he not only became a Senior Soldier in the Joliet, Illinois Corps and their Senior band, but he was installed in the mighty Chicago Staff Band playing Solo Horn. AT THE AGE OF 14!! He became one of the first instructors when the Central Territory Music Institute (CMI) was created. At some time, J.D. Hopps entered the Salvation Army School for Officers Training in the Central Territory.

After J.D. became a member of the Chicago Staff Band playing solo horn, he ended up attending the Joliet Township High School. His first year there, he played French Horn in the school orchestra because he thought he would not be good enough to get into the High School band. However, when he went for an audition, the band director found out he played in the Joliet Salvation Army Band and the Chicago Staff Band and told him he would be added to the Joliet Township High School Band band with no audition. Here's why J.D. was doubtful about getting into the band:

In 1913 three Rotarians--Al Oldhaver, Herb Spencer, and Art Montzheimer, served on the board of Joliet Township High School. Joliet Rotary purchased the instruments and uniforms for the start of the high school marching band from Rotarian George Wiswell's Music Store. The High School Band went on to become State Champions in 1924, 1925, and 1926. They won National Championships in 1926, 1927, and 1928, and then received permanent possession of the cup. In 1929, they were a guest band at Denver, because they could not participate after three successive victories. In 1930, they lost by one point to Senn High from Flint, Michigan. They won again in 1931 and then won all regional contests up to 1964 when the high school split into three schools.

Mr. McAllister was a personal friend of John Philip Sousa, and Sousa directed the band in concert on several occasions. It was the only high school band given permission to play his music.

The band played for every departing group of servicemen from Joliet for both world wars and Korea. Mr. McAllister was especially proud of this record, and to him it was one of the band's most important achievements.

The band has played for every president since Woodrow Wilson, with the exception of President Harry Truman. On January 29, 1953, it led the Illinois section of President Eisenhower's inaugural parade and received the highest number of points of any musical group in the entire parade. It also received a standing salute from President Eisenhower when it passed the reviewing stand.

Taken from:

http://www.jolietrotary.com/saved_joliet.htm

While J.D. Hopps was in that band, in addition to winning every contest the band was ever in, the band was invited to play at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. John Philip Sousa had died about four years before J.D. got into the High School band and Edwin Franko Goldman took Sousa's place as the most popular band director in the United States. He was a good friend of The Salvation Army and had close relations with the New York Staff Band of the Salvation Army and had also been guest conductor of the Chicago Staff Band on several occasions. Goldman was based in New York City and he found out that J.D. Hopps was arriving in New York City with the High School Band. He invited J.D. to his office and chatted with him for an hour or so.

The Joliet Township High School Band played four concerts in Radio City Music Hall on that trip. They had to memorize all of their music because the producers of the show would not allow any music stands on the stage. Durign these concerts, the band played "The Stars and Stripes Forecer" to accompany the Rockettes in one of their high kicking routines.

In the mid 50s, J.D. moved west and ended up in Seattle, Washington. Several years after coming to Seattle, J.D. took up the duty of training children in music at the Salvation Army music camps at Camp Arnold. For years he taught there. The Central Territory instigated the "Old Timers Band" at the CMI camps and invited J.D. Hopps to play in the band with other past members of the Chicago Staff Band and the prior CMI instructors. Until about four years ago, J.D. went to Chicago frequently to play in the Old Timers Band. They played the toughest music the Salvation Army had to offer and J.D. would bring back tape recordings of their performances. He would play them for me and I was always amazed at the quality of the Alto Horn sections of these bands. At age 79, he stopped attending the CMI band camps and the Old Timers Band. Since I have known J.D. Hopps, he has either been the best Brass instrumentalist in the Northwest Division or in the top three. There literally has never been a better alto horn player in this division in all of that time up to this very day.

J.D. Hopps was, and still is, one of the best musicians in the Northwest Division of The Salvation Army.

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