Conrad leaves Sousa to be with Pryor

In late 1903, after 10 years on the road with Sousa's Band, the superstar of the Sousaphone, Herman Conrad, left that great organization to start working at the Victor Talking Machine Co. in Philadelphia, and, whether immediately or eventually, to play with the new band formed by fellow-departee, Arthur Pryor.

Rumors of Pryor's intention to leave had surfaced in the middle of the band's European tour that year, but his specific plan was announced immediately upon their return to New York on August 9th. Here's what the New York Times reported the following day:

The new band's opening concert was held on November 15th, and the following day's edition of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle had this to say about it:

The key sentence, as it relates to Conrad: "Mr. Pryor has gathered about him a number of well-known musicians who have at one time or another been connected with the organization that helped to make the compositions of the March King famous." Did that include the great Sousaphonist, at least at that time? I'm not quite sure yet.

The November 21st edition of The Music Trade Review affirmed that Pryor had "a very capable and well balanced body of artists, many of whose faces are familiar through long service with Sousa's band." The article also revealed that "The band is equipped entirely with instruments made by C. G. Conn." So was Conrad there, sporting a new Conn Sousaphone? Again, I'm trying to find that out!

That following summer, the July 9, 1904 edition of the Asbury Park Press stated that "There are 26  old Sousa men in the Pryor organization" [the number is hard to make out, but I think that's it], and, by that time, Conrad is accounted for, as two days later that same paper reported the following:

Here he is, listed on the program playing that very piece on August 6th:

A few days later, that paper revealed that Conrad was also a key part of the Pryor Band baseball team! It said, "Conrad, who plays the sousaphone, did great work for the "Brass" aggregation in centre field."

Conrad is also listed as a Sousaphone soloist with Pryor a number of times in the summer of 1905, where we learn that he was also featured playing "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep." Here's the July 25th evening concert program:

[Side note: That piece, "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," was a well-worn solo for low brass instruments. I found a reference to it as a tuba solo from way back in 1887. And Pryor played it as a trombone solo with Sousa's Band, as early as 1893.]

Just how long Conrad played with Pryor is not clear. Because of his work with the Victor Orchestra, I doubt he traveled at all with Pryor's Band. And I would gather that, at some point, he simply couldn't do both, as his work at Victor became very busy as the recording industry really began to take off.

But I'll save that story for another post!