The Boston College Marching Band made its official debut with 30 members on October 20, 1919 for the Boston College-Yale football game. The groundwork for its establishment was laid by Chemistry professor Robert Parsons, SJ, in partnership with student conductor J. Carey Martin (class of 1921), who initially created a military band comprised of Students’ Army Training Corps members in 1918.

With the appointment of Peter Siragus as director in 1957, the Bands Program gained university administrative oversight. Before that, the Marching Band was largely a student-directed effort. Women were admitted into the Band in 1969, predating Boston College’s shift to formal coeducation and the enacting of Title IX by more than a year. By 1970, in addition to numerous women musicians, Bands Program implemented a 19-member majorette squad.

Throughout the Band Program’s history, various ensembles have been created, though not all have survived. Under Sebastian Bonaiuto, BC Bands added the University Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band (known as “SymBa”). Bonaiuto and David Healey (class of 1990), Marching Band Director, are credited with establishing BC bOp! Jazz Ensemble: in 1987, Healey—then an undergrad—and other student musicians had organized a jazz band, and asked Bonaiuto, then an MBA student at BC, to be its director.

As of 2023, the Bands Program reported to the Office of Student Involvement, and encompassed six ensembles with nearly 300 members: Marching Band (1919-), Wind Ensemble (2005-), BC bOp! Jazz Ensemble (1987-), Symphonic Band (1969-), Pep Band (1956-), and Dance Team (1990-). While most members of the Boston College Marching Band were students of Boston College, the Marching Band also had a partner-school program, which incorporated a wide variety of students from Boston-based institutions, including Berklee College of Music, Emerson College, Emmanuel College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Simmons College, Suffolk University, and Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Sources:

Smith, Sean, “Banding Together: BC Bands marking 100 years of music, student spirit, and fellowship,” Boston College Chronicle, volume 27, number 6, November 7, 2019.

The earliest student musical ensemble on campus was the St. Cecilia Society, formed in 1869 by James A. McHugh, SJ to provide liturgical music and dedicated to the patron saint of music. The first Glee Club was founded in 1887 as a secular counterpart to the St. Cecilia Society, and performed a variety of concerts and operettas. The director, Charles E. McLaughlin, formed an orchestra to accompany the 1892 operetta, and the ensemble continued after that performance. The Musical Clubs lapsed somewhat during the period of 1895-1913, with some years having no musical ensembles, others only an orchestra, and others only a choir. The Glee Club was revitalized in 1913 by Joseph Gildea (class of 1913) as a student-run club coached by Thomas J. Hurley (class of 1885), who also composed music for the ensemble. The Musical Clubs underwent a brief hiatus during both World Wars, from 1917-1918 and 1942-1946. Musical Clubs concerts, both on- and off-campus, regularly featured the Glee Club and Orchestra, as well as vocal soloists and instrumental quartets or octets. Though largely student-run, the Musical Clubs were guided by conductors, including Walter Mayo (class of 1923) and Theodore Marier, and by faculty moderators, including Henry Callahan, SJ, Daniel J. Foley, SJ, and Thomas P. O’Malley, SJ. In 1962, the Glee Club welcomed women into its ranks and became the University Chorale, directed by C. Alexander Peloquin. The Orchestra continued as the Boston College Symphony Orchestra, open to any member of the university community.

Sources:

Chorale programs and posters, 1966-1994, Box 2, Boston College student musical ensembles collection, BC.1986.015, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Musical Clubs programs, 1947-1964, Box 2, Boston College student musical ensembles collection, BC.1986.015, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.