Albert Austin Harding
| Albert Austin Harding | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 02/10/1880 Georgetown, Illinois |
| Died | 12/03/1958 Champaign, Illinois |
| Occupation(s) | Director of Bands |
| Years active | 1907–1948 |
Albert Austin Harding (February 10, 1880 – December 3, 1958) was the first Director of Bands at the University of Illinois. He was also the first band director at an American university to hold a position of full professorship. The Harding Band Building, the first dedicated building for a University Band Department, was named for him.
His full-length portrait painted by Earl Bradbury in 1950 hangs in the Harding Band Building.
Albert Austin Harding was born February 10, 1880 in Georgetown, Illinois. His parents were Conway A. and Jennie Stewart Harding. Unfortunately, Jennie died shortly after his birth, and Conway moved his son to Paris, Illinois to live with his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Stewart. He lived with them until the age of 10. After their deaths he went to live with his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Adelia Austin Harding, in the Austin house in Paris. He lived there until he was 22.
Harding bought his first cornet, a French Jaubert for only nine or ten dollars. This cornet was probably the cheapest type of cornet available at that time and was nicknamed "Jawbreakers". Recognizing beauty in the instrument, he quickly mastered it and moved on to the fife. By the age of 16, he had also learned the piccolo.
He began his musical career as the bugler for the Boys Brigade in Paris. Since Paris High School did not yet have a band, he became a bugler for the Paris High School Cadets. Also, he and some of his school mates formed a band called the "Bum Notes Band". Each member of the band played an unfamiliar instrument so Harding chose the baritone.
He then joined and eventually led the Paris Beacon Drum and Bugle Corps, named after the local newspaper the Paris Beacon. In this group, he played the fife and the bugle. This corps even played at a political campaign rally in 1896 for presidential candidate William McKinley in Canton, Ohio.
At the age of 17, he joined the Paris Concert Band. Before graduating high school, he became the leader of the band, and later he succeeded W. D. Wooley as the band director. Meanwhile, his career as an independent musician was thriving, and he was invited to participate in many musical groups including marching bands, dance bands, and orchestras.
After high school, he joined the Illinois National Guard, where he spent most of his time as company bugler, battalion bugler, and regimental bugler. For the most part, he was stationed at Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois.
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