David Wallis Reeves

David Wallis Reeves (February 14, 1838 – March 8, 1900), also known as D. W. Reeves or Wally Reeves, was an American composer, cornetist, and bandleader. He developed the American march style, later made famous by the likes of John Philip Sousa, and his innovations include adding a countermelody to the American march form in 1876. Sousa called Reeves "The Father of Band Music in America", and stated he wished he himself had written Reeves' "Second Regiment Connecticut National Guard March". Charles Ives also borrowed from the "Second Connecticut" on four occasions.

Biography Reeves was born on February 14, 1838, in Oswego, New York. In the early 1850s, he joined the Oswego band as an alto horn player, but soon moved to cornet, the instrument for which he would become famous. He occasionally performed with Jules Levy, another famous cornetist of the period. In 1871, he married Sarah Blanding. Blanding had a daughter from a previous marriage, and they were later to have a son, David W. Reeves Jr. In the 1870s, he created the first local orchestra in Providence, the Providence Symphony Orchestra.

Reeves accepted the directorship of Patrick Gilmore's Twenty-Second New York Regiment band after Gilmore's death in September 1892, Reeves returned to the American Band after a year.

In 1878, Reeves led a performance of H.M.S. Pinafore, using a boat for the stage, which Arthur Sullivan took note of. Later in the 1890s, he served as a judge for the New York Volunteer Firemen's Association's band competitions.

Death and burial Early in 1900, he contracted Bright's disease. and included a performance of his Immortalis by the American Band. John Philip Sousa sent 200 roses in his memory.